Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice regions have been hit hardest by the late spring storms over the past weekend, the TASR newswire was told by Silvia Jančovičová, the spokesperson for Slovakia’s Fire and Rescue Brigade Presidium (HaZZ) on Sunday, May 16.
Strong winds and heavy rain have caused short-term power outages in western Slovakia, with electricity supplier Západoslovenská Energetika (ZSE) reporting almost 700 such incidents over the weekend. In Bratislava region, fire fighters have been removing fallen trees and roof parts, torn away by strong winds.
In the Banská Bystrica and Košice regions, fire brigades have been alleviating damage caused by severe rainfalls by removing water from flooded basements. The situation is most critical in Rimavská Sobota, Veľký Krtíš (both in Banská Bystrica region), Trebišov, Spišská Nová Ves (Košice region) and Košice. A third degree flood alert has already been declared for 21 villages in Trebišov district.
“About 150 residents of a Roma settlement in Kuzmice village have been evacuated,” said District Flood Commission Vice-Chairman Robert Puci. Significant damage was caused by the local creek in Čerhov (in Košice region) which flooded dozens of houses on two streets.
“The water waterlogged the walls of one older house and subsequently the building collapsed,” said Čerhov Mayor Pavol Balogh. In the village of Čakov (in Banská Bystrica region), the local creek has increased its water level by fifty-fold and overflowed its banks. Also, two border crossings with Austria have been closed due to the weather conditions.
In Rimavská Sobota, a local resident was found drown in the Rimava River but the cause of his death is a matter of investigation.
In Bratislava, fire fighters also had a lot of work on May 17 the pylons of public lighting in four places failed and the rising ground water was being pumped in some places. The Myhava River in western Slovakia is overflowing and causing problems in town of Myjava and its region.
The mountain rescue service recommended that tourists not go hiking under these weather conditions as they are very unfavourable and unpredictable.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
