storm
Heavy rain and flooding in Slovenia and Austria
Water pours onto a street in Viktring near Klagenfurt in Carinthia. photo
© Gerd Eggenberger/APA/dpa
After weeks of precipitation, the heavy rain was too much at the end of the week: disaster alert due to flooding in Slovenia and Austria. The weather was probably fatal to three people.
Heavy rain and flooding have Slovenia and Austria caused severe damage and may have cost the lives of three people.
The Slovenian police determined on Saturday whether three deaths were related to the storms and floods. In Austria, two campsites had to be cleared. Residents and holidaymakers were stuck in traffic because some motorways and alternative roads were closed. The feared worst rains during the night did not materialize. The rain turned to drizzle on Saturday.
In the mountains near Kranj in Slovenia, two Dutch climbers were killed, probably by lightning, the Slovenian news agency STA reported, citing the police. In the city of Kamnik, 20 kilometers north of the capital Ljubljana, a woman probably died in floods, police said.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged help to Slovenia. The damage in the Adriatic country is “heartbreaking,” she tweeted. The EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Protection, Janez Lenarcic, wanted to discuss this with the government in Ljubljana on Saturday.
Biggest damage in Slovenia since 1991
Prime Minister Robert Golob spoke on Friday evening of “probably the greatest damage from a natural disaster in the history of independent Slovenia,” reported STA. Slovenia became independent in 1991. He estimated the property damage on Saturday at “more than 500 million euros”.
In Dravograd near the border with Austria, 110 people, including 30 tourists, had to be brought to safety after a landslide on Saturday. Another landslide threatened there. The place is located at the confluence of three swelling rivers Drava, Meze and Mislinje. Mayor Anton Preksavec spoke of an “apocalypse of truly biblical proportions,” as reported by STA.
At least three bridges collapsed in Slovenia, numerous sections of motorway and country roads were under water. Civil protection reported more than 3,700 operations nationwide within 36 hours. Among other things, people were rescued who had taken refuge on trees or roofs. Civil protection workers provided food and aid to people in places cut off from water. Tankers had to deliver drinking water to many towns because water pipes had been damaged by the floods.
More floods in Austria
In the southern Austrian provinces of Carinthia and Styria, further flooding threatened after new heavy rains. More than 2,500 firefighters were deployed in each of the federal states, as well as dozens of soldiers.
In a southern suburb of the capital of Carinthia, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, a retention basin had to be pumped out to prevent it from overflowing. In Lavamünd, completely soaked slopes began to slide and threatened residential buildings. In Leibnitz in Styria, a retirement home was evacuated as a precaution. In another town, people were picked up from their homes by boats and taken to safety. In southern Burgenland, the situation has eased after the recent rainfall.
Because motorways and alternative roads were partly closed due to the flooding, there were traffic jams on Saturday morning, for example in the direction of Slovenia on the A11 Karawanken motorway. The Slovenian A1 was also blocked in sections and should not be passable until Sunday, as reported by road traffic clubs. These roads are among the most important transit routes for Croatia vacationers. Authorities recommended postponing trips to or through northern Slovenia.
Croatia is also preparing
After the devastating floods in Slovenia, neighboring Croatia is also preparing for flooding. Heavy rain fell in parts of the country. In addition, the Sava river coming from Slovenia and its tributaries were expected to swell on Croatian territory, Croatian news portal index.hr reported. The high point of this flood is to be expected on Saturday evening.
A few people had to be rescued. In the municipality of Brdovec near the capital Zagreb, houses were evacuated because they had already been hit by water. In the north of the country, near Varazdin and Karlovac, the civil protection officers erected dams from sandbags as a precaution. The Adriatic coast is also partially affected. In Split, after a storm and heavy rain, vehicles had to be brought to safety from flooded streets and basements had to be pumped out.