Storm damage keeping firefighters busy

Firefighters have had their hands full dealing with the aftermath of local storms, as they were summoned out on more than sixty calls over a period of five hours on Saturday, Firefighter and Emergency Corps spokesperson Zuzana Farkašová stated on the same day. "They mostly helped with draining off water in the wake of downpours and clearing fallen trees," stated Farkašová. More than half of these calls were made in the Trnava region. A first-degree storm alert for the whole of Slovakia, issued by the Slovak Hydrometeorological Office (SHMU), remained in place until midnight on Sunday, as intense downpours and strong winds with speeds up to 45 km/hr remained a possibility. The Interior Ministry's crisis management department recommended that drivers avoid flooded roads or bridges, if they're unable to estimate the water's depth.