floods
Technical relief organization starts work in Slovenia
An advance team from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) inspects the damage in the Slovenian disaster region. photo
© —/Technisches Hilfswerk/dpa
The flood water is slowly draining away, and little by little the enormous damage becomes visible. A German helper compares the destruction in Slovenia with that in the Ahr Valley two years ago – and praises the rescuers on site.
After a quiet night, the clean-up work continued on Tuesday, the STA news agency reported. Landslides continued to cause problems. Volunteers are on site in large numbers. Some of the worst-hit areas remain difficult to access. Slovenian radio reported that several houses in the mountain village of Luce near the Austrian border can only be reached by helicopter.
The situation on site reminds him of the disaster in the Ahr valley two years ago, said THW operations manager Thorsten Meier on Monday evening in the ZDF “Heute Journal”. “Here too we have houses blown away, bridges blown away and a great deal of destruction in the area where the flood waters passed.”
High demand for replacement bridges
Slovenia asked for help from abroad at the weekend. Continuous heavy rains had overflowed rivers and bodies of water since Friday. Floods and landslides caused enormous damage. Villages were evacuated, roads and railroad tracks were under water, hundreds of bridges were torn down, and a dam on the Mur broke. There is “a high demand for replacement bridges” because places are still cut off from the outside world, said THW operations manager Meier. But he emphasized: “I have a good impression on site. I think it’s progressing extremely quickly and well.”
THW bridge experts are also expected during the week. The THW is Germany’s volunteer organization. The Czech Republic is sending three temporary bridges to Slovenia that can replace destroyed river crossings, as a spokeswoman for the fire brigade announced in Prague on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Robert Golob said on Monday evening on the private television station Pop TV that his government had already transferred ten million euros to the Red Cross and Caritas as initial emergency aid. He urged citizens affected by the floods to report their damage to the municipal commissions. Climate change has reached Slovenia, he stressed. “We must prepare for more challenges of this kind and for natural disasters.”
Flood situation in Croatia still critical
Meanwhile, in neighboring Croatia, civil defense officers and volunteers continued to fight against the flooding of the rivers Drava and Mura coming from Slovenia. The situation was most critical in Drnje an der Drau, right on the border with Hungary, as Croatian television HRT reported on Tuesday morning. The water flooded the sandbag dams built by the rescuers and infiltrated residential areas. 33 residents of a Roma settlement were evacuated and temporarily accommodated in a sports hall.
Press release THW report from the STA news agency (subject to payment by Golob according to the portal 24ur.com, Slovenia. Report from the portal vijesti.hrt.hr, Croatia. Message from the Czech fire brigade