The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was able to establish contact with the last Dutchmen in Slovenia who could not be reached after the storm in the country. Friends and family have asked for help because they could not reach these people. The severe problems faced by the Dutch in the affected area appear to have been resolved.
Most of the affected Dutch people were housed in a school in the village of Ričica ob Savinje, northeast of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. Most of them have already left for home. As previously announced, more than ninety Dutch people will be evacuated from the area by bus on Sunday.
ACSI Kampeerreizen has about two hundred guests camping in the area. The organization confirmed again on Sunday that they were all safe. The same applies to the 17 guests hosted by TUI Nederland there.
Embassy staff in the area assessed extensive damage caused by heavy rains and flooding. In the camps they saw caravans turned upside down. Slovenia is a popular holiday destination for Dutch people.
The Foreign Ministry does not have an accurate picture of the number of Dutch people in Slovenia. It is an EU member state and Dutch citizens can travel there without border controls. Not everyone follows the advice of informing the embassy via the app of their presence in the country.
Four people died due to the storm in Slovenia, including two Dutch people from Gouda. On Saturday evening, a dam collapsed in the east of the country, forcing residents to evacuate.
Emergency services in Slovenia were still busy on Sunday dealing with the consequences of the severe weather. Rescue workers were forced to respond overnight Saturday into Sunday to pump water, evacuate people, remove fallen trees and deliver emergency supplies.
According to Slovenian media, there are also warnings about possible landslides. Because of this danger, at least 110 people had to be evacuated to safety in Koroška Bila and other places in the border area with Austria. In the town of Dolnja Bystrica, about 500 residents were evacuated on Saturday night after a dam collapsed. (AP)
