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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Special police forces and trucks loaded with drinking water were heading for the most affected areas, and there some electricity outages, the Reuters reporter said.
“This is a disaster, we have never experienced such a thing”, said Skopje’s Mayor Koce Trajanovski, adding later that a “water bomb” had struck the city.
“This is a catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude”, Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Todorov said. More rain was forecast for Sunday evening. Six people were reported missing.
“We can officially report 17 people dead and just a while ago we have received the reports of three more deaths, so the total number will be probably 20 victims”, Todorov told reporters, adding that numerous injured had fractures and contusions.
On Sunday afternoon, authorities said that 20 bodies had been identified up until that point.
Additional rain will target Macedonia early this week after heavy thunderstorms caused the deaths of at least 20 people due to flooding on Saturday night.
The Red Cross of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has launched an appeal to fund more emergency supplies including baby food, nappies and cleaning kits as people begin the hard task of clearing flood water and debris from their homes.
A man walks through a flooded street in the village of Stajkovci, near Skopje, on August 7, 2016, following overnight torrential rains and fierce storms. He could not confirm the exact numbers quoted by the state news agency. The ring road surrounding the capital was reportedly heavily damaged.
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Croatia also was hit by bad weather, with strong winds leading to serious traffic disruptions.
