Slovenia on red alert as storms and flooding hit the entire country

© 2014 EARS

It began with a period of several days of highly unstable and particularly rainy weather. Now forecasters expect the rainfall to increase, causing already-swollen rivers to flood many areas.

During the day of 5 November 2014, the strongest rain fell in the western part of the country, especially in the Soča Valley.

According to the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster, firefighters were working to pump rainwater out of flooded basements and inundated primary schools.

Due to increased tides, the sea flooded the low-lying coastline in Piran. In Nova Gorica, firefighters delivered sand bags and offered assistance in setting up flood barriers on the ground floor of residential buildings.

Distributing sandbags

The capitol city of Ljubljana is expecting heavy rains and a high risk of flooding, and state services have begun distributing sandbags to residents and businesses. Officials are also calling on all citizens and businesses to clean out any drains and to take any other possible measures to mitigate the effects of flooding caused by the storm.

The Ljubljana mayor's office announced in a press release that families living in a house can receive up to 20 sandbags, while managers of apartment buildings can get up to 100 bags to create flood barriers. Extra sandbags are also available for purchase at all DIY stores for about 50 cents each.

According to meteorologist Bob Gregorčič, EARS [Slovenian Environment Agency] declared a Red Alert for most of the country because of the large amount of rain that is projected to fall over the next three days. Due to the longer expected duration of the storms, the situation is anticipated to be worse than the rains and flooding that occurred last month. The areas most at risk are likely to be in southern, western and central Slovenia.

The commander of the Civil Protection Service, Srecko Šesta, announced that individual municipalities should have an adequate supply of sandbags. The Slovenian Armed Forces are also on standby to provide assistance if needed.

Storms expected to last until Saturday

On Thursday night, precipitation will further strengthen and gradually cover the greater part of the country. In southern and central Slovenia, residents may see from 50 to 100 liters of rain per square meter, and locally even more is possible. In hilly western and southern Slovenia, total rainfall in the coming days may exceed 200 liters per square meter.

The precipitation period is expected to continue up to and including Saturday.

The Environment Agency recommends caution and regular monitoring of meteorological and hydrological forecasts and warnings.

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