Slovenia has begun to cope with the aftermath of what many of those affected have described as catastrophic flooding after being pummeled by heavy rains for more than 36 hours. According to Prime Minister Robert Golob, the damage will most certainly reach €500 million.

Golob told reporters after the National Security Council was briefed on the situation on 5 August that the tragedy had affected two-thirds of the country, making it the largest natural disaster to afflict the country in the last thirty years.

“Slovenia’s road and energy infrastructure, as well as residential buildings, have suffered significant damage.” “We’re talking about hundreds of buildings,” Golob said, adding that restoring normalcy will need a major effort.

Meeting in an emergency session, the government passed legislative measures to let impacted communities receive state aid sooner before final damage assessments are completed. Despite the summer break, parliament will reconvene next Monday to pass the law.

A number of countries, including the EU, have offered aid, and the government has tasked the Defense Ministry and the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief with putting together proposals. Slovenia, according to Defense Minister Marjan Arec, will request assistance in the form of machinery, particularly trucks and pontoon bridges.

The government also authorized €10 million in humanitarian help to be disbursed by the country’s two biggest charities to flood-affected households.

Many towns and villages remain isolated.

Even though flood levels began to decrease after the rain stopped, several villages and towns remain cut off due to landslides and flooding that took away bridges and parts of roadways.

Troops did, however, make it to rna na Korokem, a town in a tiny valley in the northern Koroka region that has been without power, water, or telecommunications since the morning of August 4th.

According to Leon Behin, the head of the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration, military and police helicopters transported food and water supplies to rna while airlifting those in need from the area. The planes also provide gasoline to generators, allowing rudimentary communication to continue.

According to Defence Minister Arec, another unit of the Slovenian Armed Forces is walking to Ljubno and Solava in the upper Savinja Valley to the south.

Floods and landslides destroyed four homes in the municipality of Ljubno, leaving 15 to 20 people homeless. However, according to Radio Slovenija, a road link has been built with Ljubno, where many visitors have been stranded.

Flooding has occurred along the Mea River’s whole course, destroying bridges from Rna to Dravograd, a town at the junction of the swollen Drava, Mea, and Mislinja rivers.

“Yesterday, the municipality of Dravograd experienced an apocalypse of truly biblical proportions,” Dravograd Mayor Anton Preksavec told the Slovenian Press Agency, using the same phrase that others watching the disaster across the country have used.

Other portions of Koroka are still in shambles, notably Ravne na Korokem and Slovenj Gradec, where the Mislinja has washed away part of the main route to Dravograd.

Many other sections of the country remain in critical condition, notably the Medvode area northwest of Ljubljana and Kamnik to the north of the capital, where helicopter evacuations continue.

Sreko Estan, the commander of Civil Protection, stated that thousands of people had been evacuated from various parts of the country, including many foreign tourists, primarily from campsites. The most recent victim was in Ate ob Savi, a famous spa and water park.

With flooding causing damage to numerous bridges, he stated that all bridges in the affected areas would have to be evaluated to see if they are still fit for traffic, and pontoon bridges may have to be installed.

Parts of Ljubljana, particularly those around the Sava River and Gradaica, have also been impacted. The Sava destroyed the kayak center in Tacen, which was an ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup site.

On 5 August, a man was discovered dead on one of the Sava’s banks, just a few hundred meters from his home. According to the Ljubljana Police Department, preliminary investigations indicate that the death may have been caused by the floods, although the investigation is still ongoing.

If their suspicions are correct, it will be the fourth weather-related death in the last two days, following the drowning of an old woman in Kamnik and the discovery of two Dutch tourists dead in the mountains near Kranj, allegedly after being struck by lightning.

A 40-year-old lady died in early June after being swept along by a torrential stream in Zagorje ob Savi, central Slovenia, and a 32-year-old woman, apparently a German, was killed in July by a tree knocked down by a violent storm in Bled.

Help is being provided from abroad.

Condolences and expressions of sympathy have poured in from around the world, with numerous countries and the EU pledging assistance.

“It’s heartbreaking to watch the devastation caused by massive floods in Slovenia.” The EU stands by the Slovenian people. “We will mobilize assistance as needed,” tweeted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Slovenia is anticipated to seek for assistance from the European Solidarity Fund, according to Janez Lenari, the Slovenian member of the Commission in charge of crisis management.

After joining the cabinet for the emergency session, Lenari stated that while Slovenia had already requested assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, it had further possibilities.

President Nataa Pirc Musar also invited the public to assist in relief efforts once the floodwaters retreated. The government will develop a thorough strategy, but post-flood activities will also necessitate cooperation, she said.

The National Security Council meeting, which was also attended by opposition representatives, heard demands from everyone present to put political differences aside.

Opposition leaders Janez Jana and Matej Tonin also demanded that the state delegate more of its relief funds and decision-making authority to local municipalities, including flood defenses.