SnowNews

Slovakia's Ski Areas Hit by Storm

Slovakia's main ski areas have been devasted by a windstorm that destroyed over half of the regions forests. Laszlo Miklos, the Slovak Environment Minister said that the windstorm was the largest natural disaster in Slovakia for over a century. The bulk of the damage was to farmed woodland not to natural growth. Winds gusted to over 100 mph and a Czeck hiker was killed by the storm.

Power to villages was cut by the storm. The clear up is expected to take months and severly affect the ski industry.



Over the border in Austria the St. Gilgen ski resort near Salzburg closed ski lifts. Local authorities also cancelled a mountain rescue exercise, saying it was too windy to conduct the training.

posted by davidof @ 10:46 AM