Czech Red Cross raising funds to help flood-hit Slovenia

The Czech Red Cross has started fundraising to help Slovenia, which has been hit by disastrous floods over the weekend. According to the Red Cross, there is a shortage of drinking water and sanitary supplies in the affected areas and many people are being evacuated. Torrential rains on Aug. 4 brought as much rain in one day as usually falls in a month, and Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said floods are the worst natural disaster in Slovenia’s modern history.

"Slovenian Red Cross teams have left for the natural disaster sites to distribute humanitarian aid to the affected people. The Slovenian Red Cross is also cooperating with the civil defense to evacuate people from the flood-hit areas and organize emergency accommodation," Marek Jukl, president of the Czech Red Cross, said.

The death toll has risen to six, according to the latest Slovenian media reports, but the number may further increase as rescue teams have not yet reached some towns and villages that are isolated by floods. In addition, there is a threat of landslides in the affected areas.

Property damage is already over EUR 500 million, Prime Minister Golob said, adding that extent of the damage is unimaginable. "Practically two-thirds of Slovenia is affected in one way or another, and the efforts to enable normal life again will be very great," he said.

Slovenia has also asked the European Union and NATO for help including the loan of helicopters and prefabricated bridges.

The Czech Embassy has not received any information about possible injuries or deaths of Czech citizens in Slovenia. However, several Czechs were stuck in accommodation facilities due to blocked roads.

"Our embassy in Ljubljana is answering dozens of phone calls day and night. People mainly asked about the traffic situation, the expected weather development and so on," Foreign Ministry spokesman Daniel Drake told ČTK. Some 599 Czech tourists registered in the ministry’s online travel system as staying in Slovenia.

"We urge everyone to stay in the brick and masonry buildings and not set out for the dangerous terrain unnecessarily," Drake added. The most affected areas are central Slovenia, the Julian Alps, and some areas of the Mura Statistical Region. Many other parts of the country are not affected and are still open to travel, according to a website operated by the Slovenian Tourist Board, but people are encouraged to monitor the situation as it unfolds before making plans.