By Euronews with agencies
Published on
05/08/2023 – 21:14
Extreme weather continues across Europe, with countries battling heavy rainfall, flooding and wildfires.
In Croatia, the army is on standby as heavy downpours brought flooding to parts of the country. Aerial footage showed flooded houses and fields.
There was intense rain in Slovenia, with the country registering its worst natural disaster in recent history.
At least three people have died as flooding and landslides cut off access to villages and disrupted traffic in the north-eastern and central regions.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said two-thirds of the country had been affected and the scale of the damage is estimated to exceed half a billion euros.
Austria has also been hit by flooding as heavy rainfall continues across the country, with the regions of Carinthia and Styria particularly hard hit.
In Spain, firefighters have been battling fierce wildfires in the north-eastern region of Catalonia which have so far ravaged at least 500 hectares of land and more than 130 people have been evacuated from the coastal area.
“We have to be very cautious,” says Joan Delort, head of the Catalan fire service, adding that confinement measures in residential areas close to the wildfires are “absolutely” being kept in place.
Late Saturday, Catalan and French firefighters said they had managed to contain a blaze close to the border, thanks to lighter winds that allowed the use of water-bombing aircraft.
And in Portugal, more than 1,000 firefighters are tackling a blaze in the Castelo Branco area.
After a brief visit by Pope Francis on Saturday to Fatima, in the centre of the country, a large plume of smoke caused by a forest fire a hundred kilometres away could be seen billowing the world-renowned shrine.
The state weather service has issued a “red” heat alert, warning pilgrims attending the World Youth Day Catholic festival in Lisbon to drink plenty of water.