The damage caused by the severe weather will expectedly be higher than EUR 210m or 0.6% of Slovenia's GDP, which is the requirement for EU solidarity aid.

To simplify the cleanup efforts, the government is moreover expected to tweak changes to the forest act which are currently being discussed in parliament.

Reporting to the parliamentary Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Environment Committee on Wednesday, Minister Dejan Židan said that around 500,000 hectares or 40% of forests were hit by the ice storm.

A rough estimate suggests that around four million of cubic metres of wood have fallen, however, the minister warned that the figure could be higher still. More exact estimates will only be possible when forests become accessible again.

Židan cautioned that the situation remained serious and that walking in forests could pose a leathal risk.

The weather forecast for the coming days is not too optimistic, as new precipitation and a south-westerly wind are expected to cause additional problems despite higher temperatures.

The severe weather affected the entire country, with the exception of the coast, the north-east and the area around the town of Brežice (SE). The situation is worst in Notranjsko (S), some parts of Gorenjsko (NW) and the area of Kočevje (S).

Thousands of households remain without electricity and power suppliers have said that they will not be able to restore power in some parts of the country at least until the end of the week.

Židan said that the ministry will draft a plan to clean out the forests and repair damage within three months and that the project would take several years.