Slovenia has sought technical assistance from both the European Union and the NATO military alliance in the aftermath of devastating floods and landslides that occurred over the past three days, according to reports from the Slovenian news agency STA, citing the government’s statement.

Prime Minister Robert Golob, on Saturday, described the floods as the “most significant natural disaster of the past three decades” and assessed the total damage to be over 500 million euros. According to Golob, “practically two-thirds of Slovenia is affected in one way or another, and the efforts to enable normal life again will be very great”.

The catastrophe has left a trail of destruction, damaging roads, railways, bridges, water supply systems, and buildings across the affected areas.

To cope with the aftermath, Slovenia has submitted a request through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, seeking 30 excavators with varying capacities and 30 specialized vehicles to address the water flows. Additionally, they have also called for the deployment of engineering teams to handle the repair and restoration process.

In their appeal to the EU and NATO, Slovenia has also expressed the need for 20 pre-fabricated bridges, each spanning up to 40 meters.

In a separate request to NATO, Slovenia is seeking assistance in the form of five heavy military helicopters, capable of carrying loads of at least five tons, for transportation purposes. Furthermore, they have asked for the deployment of 200 soldiers to assist in crucial tasks related to defense, rescue, and humanitarian aid efforts.

In neighboring Austria, at least one person has been reported dead after two people fell into a river off an eroded bank in Carinthia and only one of them could be saved.

Half of this region has been affected by flash floods since Friday and emergency services responded to numerous calls for rescue and evacuation.

Meanwhile, firefighters in the Pyrenees are tackling huge forest fires. In Central-Western Portugal, several villages have had to be evacuated.

Over the weekend six people were reported injured while 6,200 hectares of forest burned.

On the Spanish-French border, near Portbou, 130 people were evacuated dure to approaching fires.

The blaze destroyed about 20 hectares in just three hours and spread rapidly as strong winds fanned the flames. On Sunday, firefighters reported they had the fire under control.