At least 85 Dutch nationals affected by floods repatriated from Slovenia

At least 85 Dutch nationals affected by the floods in Slovenia are being repatriated, SOS International reported. Slovenia has been hit by heavy rains since Thursday. At 9 p.m., the buses left the Netherlands for northern Slovenia, where they will arrive Sunday morning. After a stopover by the bus drivers, the buses will return to the Netherlands on Sunday evening.

All of the Dutch are uninjured but "terribly shocked," said a spokesman for SOS International. They are unable to drive themselves to the Netherlands because their cars were too badly damaged by the storm or, in some cases, even swept away by the mud. SOS International has therefore decided, in consultation with other emergency centers and insurers, to carry out the repatriation.

Currently, SOS International employees are already on their way to Slovenia to coordinate the repatriation of the Dutch nationals. They were already relatively close, as they were also coordinating the buses with Dutch tourists from northern Italy, the last two of which are expected to arrive in the Netherlands on Sunday. The employees are expected to arrive in northern Slovenia around midnight.

SOS International stressed that it is the repatriation of people. The recovery of vehicles will be handled by the individual emergency centers themselves, the spokesperson said.

Four people died due to the storm in Slovenia, including two Dutch citizens from Gouda. Houses, roads, and energy infrastructure were severely affected by the storm.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob described the situation in his country as "The worst natural disaster in Slovenian history," NOS reported. According to the prime minister, the damage is estimated at around 500 million euros.