At least 20 killed after fierce storm in Skopje, Macedonia

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[SUP]Kids were dragged and drowned by torrents of muddy water after flash floods in Skopje overnight.[/SUP]

At least 20 people including children died overnight as a fierce storm with intense lightning and strong winds slammed Macedonia's capital Skopje.

Whole families drowned in their houses in flash flooding with water two metres deep in some villages.

Many residents climbed onto rooftops during the night in the villages of Tajkovski, Singelik, and Aracinov.

Cars were dragged by torrents of muddy water in the capital Skopje where significant damage to infrastrcture is reported. Trees were uprooted and snapped.

25 people were admitted to hospital for various injuries in Skopje.

 
Latest: Six still missing in Skopje

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Six people are still unaccounted for in the capital Skopje according to police.
 
PHOTO GALLERY: Macedonia Storms, August 7, 2016

 
LATEST: Army units called in to help with the disaster

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Village of Stajkovci after the storm.

Special police, army units and firefighters have been sent to the worst-hit areas in the capital's northern suburbs and the nearby villages of Stajkovci, Aracinovo and Smiljkovci.

Hundreds of homes and vehicles have been destroyed by the floods, roads are impassable and several areas are without electricity.

Skopje mayor Koce Trajanovski has described the situation as "the worst Skopje has ever seen."

Further north in Croatia, stormy winds have disrupted road and sea traffic at the height of the tourist season.

The state news agency HINA says parts of the main highway connecting the capital of Zagreb with the Adriatic coast remained closed on Sunday. Only cars were allowed down the sections of a highway and a regional road further north near the port of Rijeka.

Disruptions created by the bad weather have clogged the roads, creating traffic backups among cars carrying tourists toward Croatia's coastal resorts along the Adriatic Sea.

Traffic has been limited on the bridges connecting the islands of Pag and Krk with the coast, while some ferry lines have been halted services with the islands of Pag and Rab.
 
Three-and-a-half inches (93mm) of rain fell in Skopje in the storm - more than the average for the whole of August.

Many homes remain flooded and without electricity; some are reported to have collapsed.

The authorities have declared a crisis situation in Skopje and Tetovo for the next 15 days, the Macedonian Information Agency said.

The Mayor of Skopje, Kove Trajanovski, said: "This is a disaster. We have never experienced such a thing."

"There were thunderbolts with lightning almost every second. It was really horrific," said Biljana Joneska, 62, in Skopje.

Local media reported that ambulances were called out 65 times across the city, more than 20 people were treated in hospital, and the army was called in to help.
 
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Bulgaria is one of the first nations to offer help to Macedonia and we have already sent firefighters from Sofia with emergency vehicles and equipment to help in rescue operations in Skopje.
 
horrible...must be frightening to wake up to your house flooded and not being able to get out and drown
 
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