MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2023) France and Germany have sent assistance to help Slovenia tackle heavy floods, which have already killed six in the Central European country, the EU crisis management commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, said on Monday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the bloc was ready to provide the necessary assistance to Slovenia.
"After request for assistance via the #EUCivilProtectionMechanism, offers of heavy excavators and engineering teams started to come in immediately to help with #floods. (German) and (French) assistance is already on its way. We expect more offers to follow," Lenarcic said on X, social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The death toll from floods in Slovenia has increased to six, the state-run Slovenian Press Agency reported on Monday. Its previous situation update on Saturday put the death toll at four.
The Slovenian weather agency said that up to 200 millimeters (7.8 inches) of rain had fallen in some areas of the country. The vicinity of Celje, the country's third-largest city, was hit particularly hard. The military and police mobilized helicopters and personnel to assist evacuations in affected areas. Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob estimated the damage from the floods could reach 500 million Euros ($549 million).
