Almost two dozen people were killed and dozens more were injured when torrential rains triggered flash floods in the capital of Macedonia, the Red Cross said Sunday.
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Special police, army units and firefighters have been sent to the worst-hit.
Hundreds of homes and vehicles have been destroyed by the floods.
At least 56 people were injured in the storms, while a hospital source told AFP that an eight-year-old girl was among the dead.
According to local media, several people reported missing.
The rain had stopped on Sunday morning and water levels were receding, but more rain was forecast for the evening in the capital of the small Balkan nation of 2 million inhabitants.
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.
Macedonia’s government declared August 8 a day of mourning.
Cars were underwater and roads left severely damaged after gale-force winds and heavy rain hit Skopje’s northeastern suburbs overnight.
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.
At least twenty people have died in flash floods in and around Skopje, the capital of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
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Disruptions created by the bad weather have created traffic backups, with many tourists trying to reach Croatia’s coastal resorts along the Adriatic Sea. He could not confirm the exact numbers quoted by the state news agency. The bridge connecting one island to the coast was closed due to the strong winds.
