The Ice Storm Aftermath

 

A walk through the park (Roznik) near Ljubljana a month after the ice storm ("zled").

At the bottom of the hill, the broken trees are not so numerous.

 Soon after beginning the climb following the forest path, the full extent of devastation becomes visible.

Approaching the top of the hill the damage becomes ever more evident.

The impact on the fauna is not known yet.

It'll probably take at least a couple of decades to heal the Slovenian woods from this natural catastrophe.

Slovenia in Ice Grip

 When the weather turns bad

It's been the fifth day of the ice grip that has crippled Slovenia. The bitter grip of ice is expected to remain until Wednesday.  In places, the ice coating is more than 5cm thick, causing trees and power lines to break.
Tens of thousands of homes across the country are still without electricity and around 75% of schools and kindergartens were closed on Monday and Tuesday due to traffic and power disruptions.
 An estimated 150,000 households and other consumers are still without electric power supply. Thousands of homes are still cut off. Many roads are closed due to ice or fallen trees.


Sleet and fallen trees are also causing trouble in railway traffic, according to the national operator Slovenske železnice.
"Zled", the dreaded ice storm comes periodically, about once in a decade, but was never so extensive and the damage to the forests so severe as this time. 
Below are few of the photographs I have taken near my home in Ljubljana. The streets have been cleared of ice and fallen branches and the ice coating has already melted a bit.