The Embassy of the Republic of Poland warns tourists. It’s about traveling through and to Slovenia

In recent weeks, heavy rainfall has been passing through Slovenia, which led to a natural disaster in the country before the weekend. There was a flash flood here, as a result of which international and local roads were flooded, dangerous landslides were created, and the inhabitants of some regions were cut off from the rest of the world or lost their possessions. Europe’s eyes are on the disaster in Slovenia, and humanitarian aid is pouring in from beyond the country’s borders.

If you are planning to go on holiday to Slovenia in the coming days or you wanted to cross the country to get somewhere further, be sure to read the messages. The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ljubljana issues warnings for tourists and advises against trips to these places.

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland warns Polish tourists

Currently, help is flowing to Slovenia from everywhere. Firefighters have been put on full alert and have already intervened several thousand times. The worst is in Koroška, ​​in the Meža river valley and in Dravograd, where roads are blocked by landslides. It is a place cut off from the rest of the country. The situation is not helped by the fact that it is the middle of the holiday season, and many people travel to Croatia through the areas affected by a natural disaster. That is why the Polish embassy in Slovenia issues warning messages for Poles.

On August 5, the embassy’s Twitter account indicated that the A1 Ljubljana – Maribor motorway was impassable. The section between the Žalec and Vransko exits was closed towards the capital of the country. In turn, towards Maribor, the road between the Blagovica and Šempeter exits was closed, as well as the entrance to the motorway towards Maribor.

“In view of the above, and due to the fact that further rainfall is expected throughout virtually all of Slovenia, we recommend that you plan your journey to and through Slovenia carefully. For the time being, the highway through Maribor to Zagreb, which Polish tourists travel to Croatia, is not in danger of being closed. However, we cannot fully exclude such a situation. We recommend traveling to Croatia avoiding Slovenia and driving through Hungary. It should be noted that heavy rainfall is expected in southern Austria, where the initial emptying of one of the retention reservoirs on the Drava River has begun. In this way, space is prepared for possible further rainfall. This is to prevent flash floods similar to those in 2012, which took place in the vicinity of Maribor, where water from the retention reservoir, together with heavy rainfall, led to wide, flash flooding. Due to flooded railway lines, the Kranj-Jesenice line, the Koroška line between Ruša and Bleiburg, the Bohinj railway line between Most na Soči and Jesenice, and the Velenje line between Šmartno ob and Velenje are currently closed. Due to flooded roads, there are also problems with alternative bus connections,” the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Slovenia wrote on the website.

The ambassador constantly appeals to Poles to avoid Slovenia on their way to holidays and to keep up with the information published on websites devoted to the current situation in the country.

The biggest natural disaster in the history of Slovenia

The flood in Slovenia is considered the greatest natural disaster in the history of an independent country. Currently, losses are estimated at over EUR 500 million. However, the country can count on help from other EU members and on money from the EU Solidarity Fund, for which the authorities applied to the European Commission.

Rescuers from Poland also went to Slovenia. Humanitarian aid also flows from our country, including trucks with the necessary things.