Four people died in Croatia after storms hit the country on Wednesday and about 100 people were injured, HRT TV reported. The media reports of massive destruction. Fatalities were also reported in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A state of emergency was introduced in northern Serbia, where part of a hospital and a primary school were destroyed, among others.
Violent storms on Wednesday, in the Balkan Peninsula, they first hit Croatia and Slovenia, and then moved over Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was the day after the heatwave.
Four people died in Croatia
The death toll from Croatia’s storms has risen to four and about 100 people have been injured, HRT TV reported on Thursday. Two men were killed by falling trees. Two people died in the town of Cernik.
So far, over 1.5 thousand interventions of various services have been carried out in the country. In the capital Zagreb, the emergency services asked to be contacted only in a life-threatening situation.
“The storm left devastation unseen in this area even during the war of the 1990s.” – wrote the daily “Jutarnji list”. Croatian media published numerous photos of broken roofs, collapsed walls of houses and broken trees and electric poles.
Violent storms swept across CroatiaENEX
The wind was strongest – up to 180 kilometers per hour – in the vicinity of Zagreb. The State Meteorological Office (DHMZ) indicated that it was the strongest there since the measurements began.
Fallen trees in ZagrebENEX
Fallen trees in ZagrebENEX
State of emergency in Serbia
In Serbia, the storms caused the most damage in nearby Sremska Mitrovica, where strong winds destroyed parts of a hospital and a primary school. 40 people were injured in this town. Over 200 interventions were carried out throughout the country, 20 fires broke out and 20 evacuations were carried out in the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
“Due to the fact that the effects of the terrible weather could not be combated during the day, and their extent is enormous, a decision was made to declare a state of emergency. Thanks to this, it will be possible to take special measures and engage more forces,” the authorities of Novi Sad, a city in northern Serbia, said in a statement.
In the capital of the country – Belgrade – the wind overturned a crane, in parts of the city there was no electricity, residents reported torn roofs. Belgrade airport had to stop traffic.
Forests located high in the mountains suffered, the STA news agency reported. A warning has been issued for tourists to avoid risky routes.
Fatalities in Slovenia and Bosnia
The storms also passed through Slovenia, where one person lost his life. The local Environmental Protection Agency recorded gusts of wind reaching 164 km/h on Wednesday. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was also hit by violent storms, a woman died in the Brcko district.
Main photo source: ENEX