ABUNDANT PRECIPITATION BETWEEN 20 AND 22 AUGUST 2005

Abstract

Strong precipitation between 20th and 22nd August 2005 caused severe torrential floods and landslides in the Posavje region, around Sevnica (Figure 6). The meteorological situation was unusual, causing severe precipitation in the eastern part of Slovenia, which is otherwise the driest region in the country. Two-day precipitation amounts in the area of maximum precipitation exceeded 140 mm, in isolated regions even 160 mm. Measured rainfall intensities at some stations in the Posavje region exceeded the 100- year return period (Table 2). The consequences were catastrophic. Small tributaries of the Sava and Savinja rivers flooded and caused severe damage in nearby villages. The enormous amount of water caused many landslides that damaged the road infrastructure in the Posavje region. At the same time, above average precipitation was also detected in Prekmurje and the Podravje region (Figure 6). In those two cases, precipitation cells were smaller and the most intensive precipitation was limited to a much smaller area.