Death toll in flood-hit town of Obrenovac unknown

Death toll in flood-hit town of Obrenovac unknown

The hardest-hit town remains Obrenovac, where according to the MUP Sector for Emergency Situations people died in the flooding on Friday. However, the authorities are not saying how many bodies they recovered so far, announcing instead that this will be made known "once the water has subsided."

Meanwhile, little information is coming from this southwestern Belgrade municipality devastated by the Kolubara River, as the police ordered journalists to leave, and are now evacuating residents using helicopters, moving some 1,200 people to safety in this way on Saturday.

Journalists can only enter the town with police escort. What is known is that Obrenovac has neither electricity nor water supply. Elsewhere, the Sava River at Šabac was contained in its banks during the nights by the joint effort of the thousands of volunteers, troops, and police, but the water is rising again this afternoon and residents there have been advised to be on standby for possible evacuation.

Some parts of Sremska Mitrovica have already been ordered to carry out preventive evacuations. Rescuers also on Saturday managed to reach the town of Krupanj after it was cut off from the world for two days.

Authorities have said that tap water is safe to drink in Belgrade, and appealed on the citizens to reduce their electricity consumption, noting, however, that the country's electricity supply system was "absolutely stable."

International aid is arriving from many countries, and includes rescue personnel, helicopters, boats, food and other supplies, and money.

How to help and get help

If you wish to donate RSD 100 to a special government account set up to help the victims of the flood you can send a text message to 1003 using any of the three mobile operators in Serbia.

If you wish to make a money contribution to the fund set up to help the victims of the floods, please follow instructions from this page of the Serbian government's official website.

If you are in need of assistance or evacuation from a flood-stricken area, dial one of these numbers provided by the Ministry of the Interior (MUP): 011 2289 208, 011 2282 910, 011 2741 157, 011 2282 943, and 011 2282 944.

These hotlines are to be used only to request evacuation and assistance and not information about the floods. The toll-free number 112 is available for the same purpose and can be accessed from the networks of all mobile operators in Serbia.

The number 1985 is to be used only in cases of direct danger to life, so that this line is kept open for such emergencies.