A 46-year-old man was killed by lightning as severe storms swept through Slovenia and Austria, triggering flash floods, damaging buildings and disrupting air traffic.
Police said lightning struck two people sheltering beneath a tree in Slovenia’s Žalec area. The 46-year-old died at the scene, while the second person was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Torrential rain flooded basements, damaged roofs and brought down trees across central Slovenia. Lightning also sparked a fire in an outbuilding in Podolševa.
Emergency services carried out 51 interventions, mainly in Ljubljana, Celje, Kranj, Trbovlje and Koper. An orange weather warning was issued for the entire country as further heavy rainfall was forecast.
The storm also caused flash flooding in Lower Austria. Firefighters in Bruck an der Leitha received around 400 calls for assistance by Friday morning.
People were rescued from flooded vehicles in Haslau an der Donau, while a fallen tree damaged a house in Maria Elend. Property damage was also reported in Schwadorf and Enzersdorf.
Vienna was hit by hail, torrential rain and strong wind gusts, prompting numerous emergency interventions. Cars, homes and businesses were damaged in Burgenland, while flights at Vienna’s Schwechat Airport faced delays.