July 19, 2023 – Northern and central Croatia and Slavonia were affected by a terrible storm. Strong wind and heavy rain caused utter chaos in Zagreb. The devastating wind carried everything in its way, and the heavy rain flooded the streets. The damage is huge. Three people died in Zagreb and Slavonia. More than 60 people were injured.
A new storm is expected during the night. Warnings and instructions have been issued to citizens, writes Index.
Zagreb Mayor Tomašević: This is unprecedented
“It is not an easy situation, this is unheard of. I was born in this city, I have never seen anything like this. In thirty minutes this kind of damage occured, so many trees, so many roofs were taken from buildings. It is obvious that the climate is changing and it is obvious that, unfortunately, we can expect this kind of extreme climatic conditions in the future and we have to adapt to it,” said Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević for RTL Direkt.
“Everyone is on the ground, we have established a city headquarters in the fire department so that we coordinate the work of the emergency services. This includes everyone from the ambulance, to the firefighters, to ZET, to the Zagreb Holding. There are many interventions, I must say that the city companies are working non-stop. I would like to thank the workers who are working the <irsecond shift. The Water Supply and Drainage workers are cleaning the drains due to the accumulated branches, and a new storm is potentially coming. The workers of Zrinjevac were sawing trees that are still obstructing some roads, a good part of the roads have been cleared in quite a short term. The company Zagreb Roads are also on the ground, while ZET is repairing public transport so that most of the tram lines will be in operation in the morning,” he added.
“As you know, we have two dead citizens in Zagreb, and I want to express my condolences to their families. There was one deceased citizen in Brod-Posavina County. We still have the same number of injured people in different city hospitals, and I wish them a speedy and as good recovery as possible,” he concluded.
Other Croatian Counties, Bosnia and Herzegovina Affected as Well
Emergency services had their hands full in Međimurje, Bjelovar-Bilogora, Požega-Slavonia, Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja, and Vukovar-Srijem counties as well.
One woman died in the storm when it hit Brčko in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where more than 20 people requested medical help.
NEw Storm Possibly Coming During the Night
A new storm has reached Istria via the north of Italy and Slovenia. Meteorologists have announced that there will be local hail and stormy winds, but the storm will be significantly weaker than the one that hit central Croatia today.
Live updates in Croatian on Index.
