Acting Director of the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, Leon Behin, began by describing the current situation on the ground. He stressed that the situation was improving – helped by the easing of the weather – but that it still remains very critical. All field units are still primarily trying to provide accessibility and basic living conditions, which means the country is primarily still in the phase of ensuring the safety of people and persons. This is also why he urged everyone involved in the rehabilitation work to take the utmost care for their own safety. He also said that all places are accessible for the time being, albeit from very different directions, some only via Austria, and telecommunications links are in place.

Electricity supply is improving

Minister of the Environment, Climate and Energy, Bojan Kumer, began by stressing that the Government, in cooperation with the teams from power distribution and transmission companies, is working to ensure that the energy infrastructure is up and running as quickly as possible. He pointed out that there are currently only 1,836 consumers without a dependable electricity supply – these consumers are variously distributed in the most seriously affected areas of the Meža Valley, part of Koroška, Črna, Prevalje, the Upper Savinja Valley, as well as parts of Ljubljana, the Lower and Upper Gorenjska region. He added that temporary mobile electric generating stations will be set up in a few days, and with them the electricity supply, and measures for citizens are already in development to establish special teams to inspect individual electrical installations so that consumers can safely connect their appliances back to the grid. Minister Kumer seized the opportunity to thank all the teams for their dedication and quick action on the ground.

The gas pipelines – distribution and transmission systems – are working perfectly, with a few exceptions in the Upper Savinja Valley and parts of Koroška.

Public passenger transport lines are also being restored

Mr Kumer underlined that the situation in passenger transport varies from hour to hour and that less than 10% of lines are disrupted. Some lines of public passenger rail transport remain suspended, such as Celje–Zidani Most, Celje–Velenje, Zidani Most–Litija, Kranj–Jesenice, and Jesenice–Anhovo. An emergency connection between Celje and Ljubljana via Sevnica has been temporarily arranged. Slovenian Railways publishes the real-time information on the situation on the lines on its website.

Trafficability in affected areas is improving

Minister of Infrastructure, Alenka Bratušek, said after a field visit to Gorenjska that she was positively surprised by what she saw, as a lot of the material deposited by the water had already been removed from the roadways. “This is improving trafficability practically from one minute to the next,” she stressed. Motorways across Slovenia are fully open and rail traffic has started, with the exception of a closure on the Ljubljana–Zidani Most line, on the Litija–Sava section. At least one track should also be opened on this line.

According to the Minister, there are currently 99 partial or total closures on national roads. The biggest problems are in the Poljanska Valley in Gorenjska, in Koroška (she has been in contact with the mayor of Črna na Koroškem about the situation there) and in the Kamnik area. The Minister said that today she had met with all our concession operators and a few other construction companies regarding the rehabilitation of damaged roads. They assured that they had sufficient machinery and staff to clear the road as quickly as possible. This will be immediately followed by the rehabilitation of the damage to the national road network. Information on the state of the country's roads is available on the toll-free number 080 2244 or on the website promet.si.

Public health measures for floods, Poplave 2023 app, information for foreigners

Nina Pirnat, Head of the Centre of Environmental Health at the National Institute of Public Health, presented information on clean drinking water, boiling and other public health measures in the event of flooding.

The Government has also launched the Poplave 2023 (Floods 2023) web app in Slovenian for individuals and organisations wishing to help those affected by the floods.

The Slovenian Press Agency has also launched a special website with news in English, which is freely accessible and aimed at foreign public and tourists who are currently in Slovenia.