After storms and heavy rain – floods in Austria and Slovenia – three dead – news

  • Heavy rain and flooding have caused serious damage in Slovenia and Austria.
  • According to reports, three people died in Slovenia. The police are still investigating the exact circumstances.
  • In addition, a dam broke in eastern Slovenia on Saturday evening.
  • In Austria, two campsites had to be cleared.

At least five Dutch people are missing in Slovenia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced to radio station NOS on Saturday. 400 Dutch people also had to leave a campsite after severe flooding.

In the mountains near Kranj in Slovenia, two Dutch climbers were killed on Friday, probably by lightning, according to the Slovenian news agency STAS, citing the police. In the city of Kamnik, 20 kilometers north of the capital Ljubljana, a woman probably died in floods, police said.

Prime Minister Robert Golob spoke on Friday evening of “probably the greatest damage from a natural disaster in the history of independent Slovenia,” reported STAS. The country became independent in 1991.

Dam burst in Slovenia – evacuation of several villages


open box
close the box

After the violent storms in Slovenia, a dam in the east of the country broke on Saturday evening. The Slovenian news agency STA reported that the plant on the Mur river near Dolnja Bistrica was affected. A total of ten towns are at risk. Evacuation measures are underway there. It was initially unclear how many people were involved.

“We have taken the absolutely necessary step of evacuation because this is the only measure to prevent possible casualties,” said civil protection commander Srecko Sestan. “If the water starts to carry away the soil, the dam will collapse immediately and the tidal wave will hit nine or ten villages.” Attempts are now being made to seal the dam with concrete blocks by helicopter, he said.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged help to Slovenia. The damage in the 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.

Several bridges collapsed

In Dravograd near the Austrian border, 110 people, including 30 tourists, had to be brought to safety after a landslide. Another landslide threatened there. The place is located at the confluence of three swelling rivers Drava, Meze and Mislinje. According to STAS, Mayor Anton Preksavec spoke of an “apocalypse of truly biblical proportions”.

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.

Heavy rains in Carinthia and Styria

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 Lavamünd, soaked slopes began to slide and threatened residential buildings. In Leibnitz in Styria, a retirement home was evacuated as a precaution.

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 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 prepares for floods


open box
close the box

While Slovenia and parts of Austria are fighting the serious consequences of storms, Croatia is also preparing for a tsunami. Heavy rain has already fallen 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.

source site-72