A flash flood that formed during recent heavy rainfall washed large amounts of waste down to the sea.
It's hard to believe we wrote about the fascinating archaeological discoveries in the Nature Park Telašćica only last week, as the gorgeous natural site is now undergoing an environmental disaster.
One of the most beautiful bays on the Adriatic got hit by thousands of cubic metres of waste, due to recent heavy rain in the wider Zadar area. A flash flood washed away large quantities of waste from a landfill located up the hill above Telašćica, taking the debris down to the coast, reports Morski.hr on September 21, 2017.
The amassed waste thus polluted multiple bays, parts of the coast, the sea surface and the seabed. Director of the Nature Park Telašćica Nikolina Baković stated the flash flood burst through canyons passing between hills; it's going to take months to clean up the waste brought down in a span of three hours of heavy rainfall.
The dumping ground located at Veli Dolić above Telašćica was cleaned up about a decade ago, and all the waste has been transported to Zadar ever since. However, as it usually goes, people living in the area started to dump waste at the same location once again, while the local authorities either ignored the problem or just failed to react. It was only a matter of time before nature had her revenge; once a pristine natural site, the area is now covered in layers of plastic, rubber, metal, and other debris – a proper ecological catastrophe amidst otherwise unspoilt natural scenery.
Photo credit: Nature Park Telašćica via Morski.hr
