South-western areas of the country have been hit hardest in what some are describing as a large-scale natural disaster.Some 250,000 people are thought to have been affected by the fluctuating temperatures which have caused snow to half melt then freeze again, leaving parked cars entombed in a thick shell of ice.The Slovenia government has said that more than 40 per cent of the country's Alpine Forests, 1.2 million acres, have been damagedIn and around the the city of Postojna, in the west, people used axes to try to free their cars from ice 15 cm (6 inches) thick.(independent.co.uk)ANN.Az