Hurricane-strength storm hits Belgrade, five people injured: Damage reported across Serbia

The whole of northern and western Serbia was this afternoon experiencing a severe storm that resulted in heavy rainfall, thunder, and violent winds.

In places, the wind reached hurricane force speeds. Around 13:00, destructive weather hit Belgrade as well, including a dust storm and gusts of wind of over 100 kilometers per hour in some areas of the Serbian capital.

There has been physical damage to structures throughout the city, and at least five persons have been injured, one seriously. Traffic has ground to a halt in many locations.

Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina bore the brunt of the storm today, that included the formation of supercell storms.

A state of emergency has been declared in several areas; a number of wildfires are also still raging in the country.

As the day progresses, central regions of Serbia will experience similar weather.

After a long, intense heatwave, temperatures already dropped significantly in the north and west of Serbia. While the highs had reached up t 40 degrees Celsius in much of the country for many previous days, it was 18 degrees in Vojvodina on Tuesday afternoon.

The weather in the south and east, however, still remains extremely hot.

(Telegraf.rs)