KAMNIK, (SONNA) – At least three people died as torrential rains hit northern and western Slovenia on Friday, causing floods, cutting power and disrupting traffic.
Two men from the Netherlands died, possibly after being hit by lightning, Slovenian press agency STA reported. The Dutch government confirmed the deaths but not the cause.
An elderly Slovenian woman also died during the storm, though authorities were still looking into the circumstances, STA added.
“We can already say that this a record flood,” Prime Minister Robert Golob said at a news conference after cutting short his vacation because of the floods. Golob said the floods could be the biggest since Slovenia became independent in 1991.
“The scale is catastrophic. We are asking for all the help we can get,” he said. “I am calling on everyone to stay at home unless it’s absolutely necessary to go out.”
Authorities in Celje ordered evacuations of around 4,000 people, roughly one tenth of the town’s population as the surging Savinja River overflowed its banks. Upstream in the town of Ljubno, the same river swept away houses and caused landslides.
Northern Slovenia’s Koroska region, bordering Austria, was hit the hardest, with bridges and roads destroyed and the water supply cut off in some areas.
Local authorities asked the Austrian government to stand ready to provide hospital care for Slovenians, if needed. The main hospital in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, said it was operating on alert mode and told people only to come in for urgent reasons.
Source: Agencies
