Macedonia declares state of emergency after 21 die in flash floods

Overnight storms have caused flooding in Macedonia which has led to the deaths of at least 15 people.

Northern suburbs of the capital were particularly hard hit.

Six others were declared missing as Skopje was flooded.

Police and army helicopters searched for the missing and evacuated hundreds from the flood zone. “Our teams are still searching for other possible victims”, police spokesperson Liza Bendevska told AFP.

Meteorologists said more than 800 lightning strikes were recorded in the first two hours of the storm, which went on for about five hours in total.

The mayor said Skopje had never experienced such a disaster. Parts of the city’s ring road have been swept away in the floods, dragging cars into nearby fields.

After a meeting of the National Crisis Management Center, Health Minister Nikola Todorov said numerous injured had fractures and contusions.

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

Some of the victims drowned in their cars as water piled up quickly due to the intensity of the rainfall, according to BBC News.

“Unfortunately, 20 people have died”, said Health Minister Nikola Todorov, who is coordinating rescue operations.

The rain hit the capital on Saturday afternon, with the sewage system failing to deal with the unexpected amount of water.