In Slovenia, clean-up work has begun after the devastating floods. The damage is estimated at more than half a billion euros, and the country is now dependent on international aid.
Everyone helps. For example, to fill the many sandbags that are then brought to the dam by helicopter so that it holds. Everything went well that night, the dam held. Although it’s completely soaked from all the water over the past few days – including the paths, there’s mud everywhere. Trucks can’t get through. That’s why the army helicopters came, with concrete blocks weighing tons. And now: with sandbags.
One helper has some overview: “What I heard and saw from the helicopter convinced me. The water level of the Mur is slowly falling – and when it stops raining, the situation will certainly stabilize and get better over time.”
The people from the villages around are already safe, 500 were housed in emergency shelters – as a precaution. The worst seems over.
Two thirds of Slovenia are affected
Now it’s about reconstruction: “The sun is shining again,” says Darja Pecovnik on the radio – she heads a Slovenian aid organization. And says: “Now we need a lot of hard-working hands to bring people’s houses and apartments back to the condition they were in before the flood.”
In Slovenia, the big cleanup after the storm disaster has begun. Two thirds of the small country are affected, the damage caused is estimated at more than half a billion euros. And even if most of the roads are no longer flooded, that doesn’t mean the road is clear. Many lanes are still blocked by stones, fallen branches, washed up debris. Teams of technicians are on the move to fix broken power lines and – most importantly – telecommunications links.
“I hope that we will have telephone signals again very soon, because without telecommunications we can only help to a very limited extent,” says Pecovnik. “Then it’s very difficult for us to get the information we need. That makes our work very, very difficult.” It might be a few days before everything works again.
There is a risk of landslides
What Slovenia needs and has requested first – from the EU, from NATO – are above all: heavy transport helicopters, with a crew, 40 mobile bridges, heavy excavators, clearing equipment – that’s it. Help is promised and on the way. Now it’s a matter of getting the essentials to the right places. As fast as possible.
Landslides remain a serious threat. The slopes are soaked with water and soggy, houses are in danger of being swept away. But most people are safe, many were also in emergency shelters last night. Help is also coming from Germany. Teams from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief are on their way to Slovenia. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced her visit for this week.