Croatia hit by floods

ZAGREB - Entire Croatia is struggling with the consequences of Thursday's storms and heavy rainfall - the situation is the most dramatic in the Slavonia and Posavina regions, with many homes flooded by overflowing rivers and some parts of the country declared natural disaster areas.

The Posavina county has been flooded, with over 100 litres of rain per square meter falling over the past 24 hours alone.

The situation in the Osijek-Baranja and the Vukovar-Syrmia counties - declared as natural disaster areas - as well as in the Pozega-Slavonia county, is difficult.

Strong winds are causing major problems in the eastern parts of the country.

Zagreb was hit by a severe storm last night, with the wind knocking over trees and damaging roofs, the Hina agency reported.

A powerful pipeline blast also rocked downtown Zagreb early Friday, causing no injuries.