PM: Damage from floods could reach billion euros

PM: Damage from floods could reach billion euros

Authorities said on Monday that a total of 20 deaths in the floods have been confirmed so far.

“Autopsies will show how many of the victims drowned and how many died from other causes,” the prime minister told a group of foreign journalists who visited Obrenovac in the afternoon, half an hour before an order was issued for immediate and complete evacuation of the town as a new flood wave was coming from the Sava River in a part of the town called Zabrežje.

He said there are a lot of rumors, even nonsensical ones, about the death toll, adding that of the 635 reports about victims, 451 have been checked by visiting the supposed victims’ home address and they all proved to be false.

Precious time and energy, which should have been used for saving human lives, have been wasted because of such reports, the prime minister said, adding that he cannot understand people who “are making up all kinds of stuff and wish their own country no good.”

“I hope that the worst is gone by, but we will only be able to tell in the next five days,” he said.

Vučić pointed out that a struggle is underway to protect the power plants in Obrenovac and Kostolac and that good protection walls have been raised there. “I hope that we will be able to protect them, because if they stopped working, it would cost Serbia about EUR 600 million, which it could not bear,” he said.

Vučić said that "it is difficult to talk about material damages from the flooding at present," but that it is assumed that it will "exceed hundreds of millions of euros, and according to some estimates, perhaps even one billion euros."

“In rebuilding the country we will have to rely on aid from abroad, because we have to build a lot of roads, bridges, renew infrastructure, and it will not be easy, said the Serbian prime minister.

Speaking about what Serbia needs the most at the moment, Vučić said that a lot of drugs, food, especially baby food, and building materials is necessary, adding that he expects foreign governments to aid the country.

He once again thanked Russia, Slovenia, Germany, Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Hungary, Romania and all other European countries and the European Commission, for coming to Serbia’s aid so quickly.