Tornadoes, along with giant hailstones, destroyed large portions of multiple villages in the Hodonín region of South Moravia. The municipalities of Hrušky, Mikulčice, Moravská Nová Ves and Lužice are most affected.
So far, over 200 injuries have been confirmed, with 45 still in hospital and 5 deaths at the time of writing. Firefighters are still looking for people trapped in the rubble of their homes.
Antonín Tesařík, director of the hospital in Hodonín told ČT that the scenes looked “apocalyptic.”
“There are mainly vertebral fractures, head injuries, and skull fractures. It’s a whole range of injuries from open and closed fractures to abdominal injuries. Those few hours were scary and I’d even say apocalyptic. Of the 45 currently hospitalized, all are in stable condition and I hope that their conditions won’t deteriorate.”
Drone footage of the affected area confirms Tesařík’s words, showing the rather shocking aftermath of the disaster.
Zuzana Čaputová, president of Slovakia has since reached out with condolences.
“The extent of the damage, both material and human, is unimaginable. I wish our neighbours a lot of strength. They will need it to cope with the consequences of this disaster.”
Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger has confirmed that firefighters and ambulances from his country have crossed the border to assist with the damage.
40,000 residents of South Moravia are still without electricty, while at least 2,500 are without gas. The damage is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of crowns, but Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová says the government is still calculating it, while also finalizing a relief plan for those affected. The relief plan will be a subsidy of 420 million crowns, partially as a check, and partially a loan.
Meteorologist Pavel Karas said that the tornado episode is over, and won’t be back (this year at least).
“Tornadoes are an unpredictable phenomenon, they can come out of a cloud that isn’t even part of a storm. After the first pictures, I thought I saw pictures from the midwestern United States. Such a tornado is not usually possible in our country. “
