Volunteers urged to stay away from hurricane ‘living hell’ in Moravia and Czechia, near Slovak border

Authorities in Moravia and parts of the Czechia have asked for volunteers to stay away.

Government leaders have said that so many volunteers have turned up to help that rescue areas are over-flowing – and thousands of firefighters, troops and police are already there or on their way.

At least five people died and more than a hundred injured when a hurricane and hailstones the size of tennis balls hit the neighbouring countries.

Seven villages in Moravia suffered. Police with dogs were searching for potentially buried people.

Buildings were smashed to the ground, cars and buses were tossed in to the air and many Linden trees were torn up by the roots. Fires with thick black smoke raged.

“It’s a living hell,” South Moravia’s regional governor, Jan Grolich, said.

The hailstorm also smashed 17^th century windows at the historic castle in Valtice, part of the UNESCO-listed Lednice-Valtice area.

A hospital in the town of Hodonín, on the Czech-Slovak border, said it had treated up to 200 injured people.

The deputy mayor of Hruška in the Břeclav district Marek Babis told Czech TV: “Half of the village was razed to the ground. There are only walls without ceilings and without windows. The church has no roof, no tower, and no place for people to hide. The village from the church down is practically non-existent. The school has no facade or roof. Cutting old linden and spruce trees, it’s madness.”

The last time a tornado hit in the Czech Republic was in 2018.

The governments have promised to provide quick financial aid to the affected people.

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