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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Cars were underwater and roads left severely damaged after gale-force winds and heavy rain hit Skopje’s northeastern suburbs overnight.
According to reports, several people were drowned in their cars while several cars were swept away into nearby fields. Authorities said more than 1,000 people had been evacuated so far.
“Unfortunately, 20 people have died”, Health Minister Nikola Todorov, who is coordinating rescue operations, said.
The mayor said Skopje had never experienced such a disaster. He said the government plans to declare a state of emergency shortly for two weeks in the most affected region.
Destroyed vehicles and flooded houses pictured after an overnight storm, in the village of Singelic, just east of Skopje, Macedonia.
Authorities have declared a crisis situation in parts of Macedonia after a powerful storm collapsed homes and sent floodwaters rushing into buildings, killing at least 20 people, state-run media said Sunday.
Skopje’s city council held an emergency session and made a decision to provide financial help to victims’ families, giving 180,000 denars (3,000 euros) to each.
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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. They urged people to stay at home and to only drink bottled water. A highway linking the capital city Zagreb to the southern coast was closed.
