July 20, 2023 – Tuesday, July 19 will surely be remembered for the massive, devastating storm in Croatia that took lives and completely wrecked people’s property and infrastructure.
As we wrote last night, coming from the west, the supercell storm made its way toward Bosnia and Herzegovina through Zagreb and eastern Croatia. It took several lives and left heavy damage everywhere it passed.
Index has been doing an excellent job covering the events in Croatian minute to minute. We’re summarizing the latest information.
Four dead, 130 injured in Zagreb alone
Four people died – two in Zagreb, one in Brod-Posavina County, and a firefighter in Vukovar-Srijem County.
According to the Ministry of Health, 130 people were injured in the Zagreb area, 13 of them seriously, and in Zagreb County, according to data published on the website of the Directorate of Civil Protection, two were injured. In Brod-Posavina county more than ten people were injured. Further ten people were injured in Požega-Slavonia County, while in Vukovar-Srijem County, thirty people sought medical help, and four were hospitalized.
More than 2,000 buildings damaged
More than 2,000 residential, commercial, and other buildings, as well as a large number of vehicles were damaged, and the Directorate notes that they are continuing to assess the damage.
Among important buildings in Zagreb, two schools, two health centers, five clinics, and a hospital were damaged. Around 900 buildings were damaged in Zagreb County.
More than 300 roofs were damaged in Brod-Posavina County, and around 250 buildings in Požega-Slavonia, 50 of which saw heavy damage. In Karlovac County, 350 buildings were damaged, while in Sisak-Moslavina, it was more than 100 roofs on houses and two roofs on schools in Kutina and Gornja Gračenica.
Croatian Firefighting Association: 1507 interventions with 3865 firefighters and 1604 vehicles
The Croatian Firefighting Association announced that so far 1,507 interventions have been recorded, in which 3,865 firefighters with 1,604 vehicles participated. The data on the number of interventions is constantly increasing, and firefighters are removing trees, branches, and roof tiles from the roads, while also working on repairing roofs and chimneys.
“According to the order of the chief, fire brigades from Varaždin County were sent to Sisak-Moslavina County, and two truck ladders, two vans, and 16 firefighters from the Osijek-Baranja County Fire Brigade were sent to Vukovar-Srijem County,” the Association announced.
Due to the consequences of a strong storm accompanied by rain and hail, 220 technical interventions were recorded in the city of Zagreb, in which approximately 660 firefighters with 200 fire trucks participated cumulatively.
The highest number of interventions took place in Zagreb County – 544, another 220 in Zagreb, and 171 in Karlovac County.
Moving Around Sljeme Highly Discouraged
The Medvednica Nature Park issued an important warning to all potential visitors.
“After yesterday’s storm, there are many fallen trees in the Park. The condition of all the trails is not yet known, so for safety reasons, we do not recommend walking around the Park. In addition to fallen trees, there is a danger of broken branches and trees whose stability has been weakened by the wind”.
New warnings: yellow storm alert in effect for Zagreb region
Although this morning there was only a yellow warning for the Karlovac region, the yellow alert has now been extended to the Zagreb region as well. Thunderstorms may occur in the afternoon and evening. The chances of a thunderstorm in the Zagreb region are greater than 60 percent, as well as in the Karlovac region.
For today, an orange warning was issued regarding the heat wave for the regions of Knin and Split, while a red warning was issued for the region of Dubrovnik.
For tomorrow, an orange heat wave warning is in effect in the regions of Split and Dubrovnik. A yellow warning was issued for a heat wave in the regions of Knin and Rijeka, while an orange warning for thunderstorms was issued in the regions: Rijeka, Gospić, Karlovac, Zagreb, Osijek, Split, Knin. In the late afternoon and evening, the mentioned regions are expected to see thunderstorms with temporarily strong and stormy winds, hail, and heavy rain.
Zagreb Services Contacts
The City of Zagreb published the contacts of city services which will be able to help citizens after the storm.
“Emergency service telephone lines 112 and 193 are still under heavy load, which is why it is important that citizens call emergency services only in situations where life and property are at risk. For all other situations, we invite citizens to contact the telephone numbers of the competent city services, which you can find below,” the city administration stated.
Zrinjevac – priority for clearing public areas
· Tel:: 01 6598 999 (0-24h)
· E-mail: [email protected]
Water supply and drainage – intervention cleaning of drains
· Phone: 01 6163 222 (0-24 h)
· E-mail: [email protected]
In the event that the drain is blocked on the surface, ViO asks citizens to remove any leaves and branches so that the water can drain into the drain.
Zagreb roads
· Phone: 01 2356 444, 01 6420 858
· E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Gradska plinara Zagreb – for emergency interventions, if you smell gas, or if there is no gas in the installation
· Phone: 0800 400 400 (0-24h)
ZET (Zagreb transit authority)
· Phone: 01 6680 703 (0-24h), 072 500 400
· E-mail: [email protected]
Communal and traffic police – for reports of traffic problems and communal violations
· Phone: 01 6101 566 (7am-10pm)
· E-mail: [email protected]
