Catastrophic weather claims three lives
Kranj/Kamnik/Škofja Loka, 4 August - A Slovenian citizen and two Dutch citizens have lost their lives as a result of the catastrophic weather that hit the country last evening with heavy rains and flooding continuing. Police are still trying to establish the exact cause of the deaths, the police told the STA on Friday.
Škofja Loka
Flooding in the city of Škofja Loka in the region of Gorenjska, one of the worst hit by the latest heavy rains and floods.
Photo: STA
Škofja Loka
The medieval town of Škofja Loka flooded as the Sora River bursts its banks amid heavy rain.
Photo: Luka Krek/STA
Škofja Loka
The medieval town of Škofja Loka flooded as the Sora River burst its banks amid heavy rain.
Photo: Luka Krek/STA
The Slovenian woman died in the area of Kamnik, north of Ljubljana, and the Dutch citizens in the mountains in the area of Kranj, further north-west of Ljubljana.
The Dutch were found by mountain rescuers today after they started looking for them last evening when the police were notified they were missing around 6:30pm.
"The death in Kamnik could have been caused by flooding, while in the mountains the deaths could have been caused by a lightning strike. The circumstances of the deaths are still being established," Maja Adlešič Ciperle from the General Police Administration said.
The police were notified about the death of the Slovenian this morning, while two foreign citizens were reported missing around Kranj on Thursday around 7:30pm.
Mountain rescuers are busy rescuing from the mountains but also from flooded low-lying towns.
In Škofja Loka, north-west of Ljubljana, a team of mountain rescuers and a military helicopter lifted four persons, of whom one disabled, from a house that was most threatened by floods. The house was fully surrounded by water with the entire first floor under water.
They have also airlifted with a police helicopter several persons, including a little child, from the campsite Menina Planina in the north, the Association of Mountain Rescuers said on Friday.
Mountain rescuers from Radovljica, north-west, helped 15 foreign citizens trapped in a restaurant leave after the road was swept away by torrential waters.
Torrential waters also heavily flooded the fire station in Kamnik, leaving the firefighters without their equipment and vehicles.
The associations of mountain rescuers and mountaineering advise people to not to go to the mountains until the weather has settled.
According to the latest forecasts, it will stop raining on Monday, when it is expected to be clear to cloudy, with some showers possible inland.
After the country has been in the grip of fierce storms practically since 12 July, the latest heavy rainfall that caused heavy flooding hit virtually the entire country. According to Radio Slovenija, the situation is on a par with the devastating floods in 1990, 1998 and 2004.
Hit worst this time round have been parts of Gorenjska, the region to the north-west of Ljubljana; Koroška, the region in the north, which is practically cut off the rest of the country; the Upper Savinja Valley, which is situated north-west of the city of Celje; as well as the area around the city of Idrija in the west.