Storm, which caused flash floods in Macedonia capital Skopje, has killed at least 20 people, media reports said on Sunday.
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Cars were underwater and roads left severely damaged after gale-force winds and heavy rain hit Skopje’s northeastern suburbs overnight.
Special police, army units and firefighters have been sent to the worst-hit.
The mayor said Skopje had never experienced such a disaster.
Deputy prime Minister Nikola Todorov called it “a catastrophe of unprecedented proportion” and warned the death toll could go up.
According to reports, several people were drowned in their cars while several cars were swept away into nearby fields.
Torrential rains brought 93 liters of water per square meter in Skopje on Saturday evening, while more than 800 lightening strikes were registered in the first two hours of the storm, the agency said.
At least 17 are dead and six are missing after torrential rains and flooding affected Macedonia’s capital of Skopje.
People line up for drinking water in a flooded street after an overnight storm, in the village of Stajkovci, just east of Skopje, Macedonia, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016.
Authorities warned of health risks because of the floods in Macedonia, and called on people to not drink tap water but only water from sealed bottles.
Preliminary rain totals from a weather observation site on the north side of Skopje indicate that 93 mm (3.66 inches) fell on Saturday night.
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Traffic has been limited on the bridges connecting the islands of Pag and Krk with the coast, while some ferry lines have halted services with the islands of Pag and Rab.
