In just 12 hours the flash floods in 2012 destroyed the homes of more than eight thousand families and flooded more than 100 hectares of land. For many the damage was irreparable. After the cleanup operation there was a prevailing conviction that the disaster could have been prevented. Fingers were pointed at Verbund, which was late in emptying the lake reservoirs. Because of the company’s slow response, and the heavy rainfall, the water levels of the Drava River in Slovenia started rising extremely fast. That’s a point the Municipality of Maribor wants to prove. It demands 649 thousand euros in damage compensation for its destroyed infrastructure. The high Drava also damaged the road in Trčova and the Mariborski Otok open-air swimming baths. Tens of damage liability trials against Verbund are underway in courts in Maribor, Ptuj and Slovenj Gradec. The value of the total amount of claims is at around 103 million euros.
Apart from the private individuals, companies and insurance houses, which had to cover the caused and insured damage, Maribor is not the only municipality seeking damage. The Municipality of Duplek hopes to cover around 400.000 euros of its damage costs. Austrian courts are also dealing with damage claims, as some Slovenian injured parties have decided to seek justice in the home of Verbund, in which Austria has a majority stake.