NATURAL AND OTHER DISASTERS AND INCIDENCES IN SLOVENIA IN 2000

Abstract

This article presents an annual review of major natural and other disasters in Slovenia in 2000. A number of severe disasters occurred in November 2000. The event that caused the most significant damage was the landslide in the village of Log pod Mangartom (northwestern Slovenia), which destroyed part of the village and killed seven people. Severe floods occurred three times in November, and numerous landslides were reported throughout the country. Although there were a lot of storms in summer, no heavy thunderstorms with hail, local floods and landslides were recorded, except for some local events with limited damage. Much more damage was caused by drought and hot weather at the beginning and end of the summer, particularly in agriculture. Mainly coastal and northeastern parts of the country were affected. The number of wildfires reached a total of 2246, which is slightly less than in 1998, when a record number of wildfires was registered (2466). Wildfires destroyed a total of 1759 hectares. There were also 1591 structural or building-related fires, 631 vehicle fires (by far the highest number ever recorded) and 703 other fires. The total number of fires in Slovenia in 2000 reached 5171, which is close to the record number of fires in 1998 (5192). Almost 400 pollution incidences were reported only by firemen, but the total number of pollution incidences is expected to be significantly higher. There were also 258 mountain accidents in 1999, 21 explosion, 8 river incidents, 5 cave incidents and one aircraft accident. A total of 62 persons lost their lives in disasters in 2000, as presented in this article. Twenty-four (24) persons died in mountain accidents, 9 in structural or building-related fires and river incidents, 8 in landslides, 4 in accidents with hazardous substances, 3 in explosion, 2 in vehicle fires, 2 in wildfires, and one in other fires. These figures are, as usual, unofficial due to the unavailability of complete data.