Skopje. Photo by: Nova.mk

The Macedonian president deployed the army on Saturday night after heavy rains flooded many parts of Skopje in a matter of minutes as well as the north-western town of Tetovo.

Police in Skopje counted at least 20 people dead and six missing by Sunday noon, most of them killed in the outskirts of the capital in the villages of Stajkovci, Singelic, Smilkovci and Aracinovo, where water reportedly washed cars off the streets and flooded and destroyed houses.

Cars full of people were also left stranded in water that was more than two metres deep.

Special police and rescue units were operating on the ground on Sunday, searching for more stranded and missing people.

Hospitals report at least 100 people being injured by the storm. Twenty-two of them with more serious injuries were kept in hospital.

The storm that hit western and north-western Macedonia on Saturday afternoon continued to rage well into the night with winds of 72 to 80 kilometres per hour.

The storm disrupted highway traffic between Gostivar, Tetovo and Skopje and also caused jams on the Skopje ring road.

The Macedonian crisis management centre decided on Sunday morning to declare a crisis situation in the Skopje and Tetovo region for the next 15 days.

The hydro-meteorological service said meanwhile that more heavy rains are expected on Sunday afternoon. They reported that the largest rainfall on Saturday was measured in Skopje – 93 litres per square metre.

Skopje. Photo by: Anadolu agency

Skopje. Photo by: Anadolu agency