Macedonia declared a state of emergency in its capital Skopje and neighboring districts on Sunday, a day after at least 21 people were killed in flash floods caused by a storm.
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A police spokeswoman confirmed children were among the dead and said the search will continue for six people reported missing.
He said that the deadly deluge created hazardous rainfall accumulations within only 20 minutes.”It was like a water bomb has fallen”, he said.
Most victims drowned in their houses when torrents swept through the area.
Heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms hit the city of Skopje and its northern suburbs late on Saturday. Hundreds of homes and vehicles have been destroyed by the floods, roads are impassable and several areas are without electricity.
“We distributed blankets, mattresses and water to 1,000 people on Saturday night and on Sunday, we provided water, food, toiletries, mattresses, blankets and clothes for a further 1,000”.
After a meeting of the National Crisis Management Center, Health Minister Nikola Todorov said numerous injured had fractures and contusions.
On Sunday the government declared a 15-day state of emergency and a one-off financial aid of 300,000 denars ($5,400/4,900 euro) to the families of the victims, it said in a statement. Authorities said they will open shelters for people from affected areas.
Authorities said at least 5,000 people would need urgently food and water. Parts of the city’s ring road were swept away in the floods, dragging cars into nearby fields.
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Further north in Croatia, heavy winds caused disruption on some roads, including the closure of the highway linking the capital, Zagreb, to the southern coast for lorries and buses, according to local media.
