Serbia was hit by a strong storm that carried roofs and uprooted trees Wednesday, resulting in the evacuation of 40 people and the hospitalisation of others.
Most of Serbia was affected by the storm, which was commented on social networks as “unprecedented”, “unseen” and “apocalyptic”.
The Internet was flooded with photos and videos that confirm the force of the storm that uprooted trees, carried parts of roofs, scattered garbage and construction materials on the streets, and carried laundry from the terraces… It knocked down two cranes in New Belgrade, but no injuries were reported.
Department for Emergency Situations members evacuated 40 people, including some injured.
Colonel professor doctor Ivan Marjanović, chief surgeon on duty at the Military Medical Academy (VMA), told RTS that over 40 people came to that institution with injuries, five of whom were kept for treatment.
“A patient who fell from the roof of a house with a fractured pelvis was transferred from Šabac. From Vršac, a patient who fell and suffered a ruptured spleen. They were brought from all over Serbia to the VMA, where they were treated,” said Marjanović.
According to him, everyone is in stable condition.
“Not a single human life was lost in Serbia, at least as far as our institution is concerned,” pointed out Dr Marjanović.
The Belgrade “Zelenilo” teams have intervened in more than 300 locations to clean up the consequences of the storm, including damage to cars, and fallen trees, while two barges broke loose on the Danube.
Members of the Department for Emergency Situations had 201 interventions in which 505 firefighters-rescuers were engaged.
These teams extinguished 20 fires caused by lightning strikes, while in other incidents, they removed fallen trees and tin roofs from the road.
The Belgrade Fire and Rescue Brigade intervened 34 times with 105 firefighters and 35 vehicles. It recorded five fires, nine technical interventions due to fallen roof structures and 20 interventions due to fallen trees.
The storm also caused great damage to the electricity distribution network and caused an increased number of breakdowns, especially in the territory of Kraljevo and Niš, announced Elektrodistribucija Srbije.
The devastating storm also hit other countries nearby, including central Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia, and four people died.
According to the meteorologist’s forecast, intense thunderstorms and the rapid development of supercell clouds are expected until Saturday evening.
(Milena Antonijević | EURACTIV.rs)
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