Flash flooding kills at least 21 in Skopje

Flash flooding kills at least 21 in Skopje
A state of emergency has been called in the Macedonian capital after ‘catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude’

Macedonia declared a state of emergency in its capital, Skopje, and neighbouring districts on Sunday, a day after at least 21 people were killed in flash floods caused by a storm.

Torrential rain flooded homes, swept away a section of the city’s ring road and wrecked cars late on Saturday evening. Northern suburbs of the capital were particularly hard hit, though the city centre also suffered. Children were among those killed, a police spokesman said, adding that searches were continuing for six people reported missing.

Macedonia, a small former Yugoslav republic of about two million people, has declared Monday a day of national mourning. “This is a catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude,” the deputy prime minister, Nikola Todorov, told reporters.

Special police forces and trucks loaded with drinking water were sent to the worst affected areas, where there also have been electricity outages and the scattered debris of furniture swept from houses was on the streets, a Reuters reporter said.

The rain had stopped by Sunday morning and water levels receded and though there was more rain on Sunday evening – there were no reports of further flash flooding.

The European Union’s enlargement commissioner, Johannes Hahn, said on Twitter that the EU stood ready to help Macedonia, which is a candidate to join the bloc.

Further north in Croatia, heavy winds caused disruption on some roads, including the closure of the highway linking the capital, Zagreb, to the southern coast for lorries and buses, according to local media.