Four dead after floods in western Macedonia
August 4, 2015
Flash floods in Macedonia overnight on Tuesday left four people dead including three children.
Police said more than a dozen others were injured after heavy winds and rain caused flooding and mudslides in several villages in the west of the country.
Two people - a six year old girl and an adult - are still missing.
Hundreds of local residents were evacuated from Tetovo and surrounding areas in what's described as the worst storm to hit the region in 35 years.
About 250 homes were damaged and local roads and bridges were impassable, leaving several villages and the main route into neighboring Kosovo cut off.
Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Pesevski said that one village, Shipkovica, "looks as if a huge tsunami has gone through it."
Local television showed some areas still covered in mud, fallen trees and debris, hours after the storms hit.
The government was due to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to deploy additional resources to the affected areas.
Wednesday and Thursday have been declared days of mourning for the dead in Tetovo.
The victims included an 18-month-old baby, children aged seven and 14 and an 83-year-old pensioner.
The former Yugoslav republic remains one of Europe's poorest nations with high unemployment among its 2 million population.
mm/jil (AFP, AP, Reuters)