TWO COUNTIES DECLARE STATE OF EMERGENCY DUE TO FLOODS

( Editorial: --> 7066 ) VARAZDIN, Oct 9 (Hina) - Varazdin County Prefect Marijan Mlinaric on Thursday night declared a state of emergency for the settlement of Lovrecan Otok, near the state border with Slovenia, and the municipality of Sibovec Podravski, due to a high water level of the Drava river. Five houses and 300 hectares of forest and farming land have been flooded in Lovrecan Otok. The water level has started to fall as of this morning. Similar measures had to be taken last night in the Medjimurje County, where a state of emergency was declared for the area from the Slovene border to the settlement of Gornji Kusanec. The water has reached the main state road running towards the Croatian- Slovene border, but as it has started withdrawing over the last couple of hours, traffic is unimpeded. (hina) rml 091101 MET oct 98