Stará Lesná (source: TASR)
Following the heavy rains that have struck the High Tatra mountains in the previous days, several hiking paths had to be closed and people from several villages had to be evacuated.
The worst situation is in the village of Stará Lesná, whose streets were flooded by Studený Potok stream.
“Firefighters helped evacuate nearly 274 people from a flooded cottage area and local houses, relocated to a local school and the municipal authority building,” Katarína Križanová of the Fire and Rescue Corps Presidium told the TASR newswire.
Apart from Stará Lesná, firefighters are helping in other villages in the Tatras, including Osturňa, Ždiar, Tatranská Javorina, Majere, Podolínec and Stráňany, TASR wrote.
Hiking routes affected
The rains also damaged hiking paths, most of which had to be closed. Currently, it is not possible to hike in the Bielovodská (blue hiking path) and Javorová (green hiking path) valleys.
“The re-routing of damaged sections will be marked, but we recommend tourists not to plan trips to these areas in the following two to three days,” the representatives of the Tatra National Park informed, as quoted by the Sme.sk website.
Moreover, the water damaged the bridge on the hiking path from Malá Studená Dolina valley to Skalnaté Pleso lake. As a result, the section between Hrebienok and Zamkovská Chata mountain chalet is closed. Paths are additionally damaged in several sections of the Tichá and Kôprová valleys.
Since the hiking paths might be damaged at other sections, firefighters recommend to tourists not to take risks and ford the streams, but instead return by the same route.
Flood levels active
The rains increased the water levels of several rivers in the area. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) has declared flood warnings for several sections. A second-degree warning was declared on the Dunajec river in the village of Červený Kláštor and the Poprad River in Nižné Ružbachy.
A first-degree warning was declared for the Lipník stream in Červený Kláštor, Velický Potok stream in Poprad-Veľká, Studený Potok stream in Stará Lesná, the Poprad river in Kežmarok and Chmeľnica, Sme.sk informed.
