The County President of Varaždin, Anđelko Stričak, declared a state of emergency due to drought on 30 September for the areas of eight municipalities and two cities. The decision applies to the municipalities of Cestica, Maruševec, Vidovec, Bednja, Klenovnik, Mali Bukovec, Veliki Bukovec and Trnovec Bartolovečki, as well as the cities of Varaždin and Lepoglava.
A state of emergency due to drought had previously been declared in the municipalities of Petrijanec and Vinica on 16 September. The proposals for declaring a state of emergency due to drought in their respective areas were submitted by the heads of the aforementioned eight municipalities and two cities.
The prolonged dry period, accompanied by high temperatures from June to August, caused significant damage to various types of crops in the area of these ten local administrative units. The consequences include stunted development of plants, reduced yields, and a significant expected decline in this year's harvest of agricultural crops.
Estimated damage to crops in a significant portion of the affected areas of the municipalities of Cestica, Maruševec, Vidovec, Bednja, Klenovnik, Mali Bukovec, Veliki Bukovec, and the cities of Varaždin and Lepoglava exceeds 30 per cent of the expected yield.
In accordance with the Law on Mitigation and Removal of the Consequences of Natural Disasters, those affected are required to report the damage in writing to the municipal/city commission within 8 days of the declaration of the state of emergency. The municipal/city commission is required to produce the initial damage assessments within 15 days.
Within 50 days, the municipal/city commission is to submit the final assessed damage to the County Commission. The County Commission will forward the reported final damage assessments to the State Commission and the relevant ministries.
