Flooding problems escalate

Flooding problems escalate

The Serbian Government has introduced emergency measures and is trying to cope with the situation.
Emergency measures to defend from the waters have been introduced along the Dunava, Tisa, Tamisa and Sava rivers with sandbag shoring.

The floods have covered hundreds of hectares of farming land and have left hundreds of families without homes in areas near Belgrade.

In Belgrade, there are four critical zones along the Danube and Sava that are receiving the most amount of attention: The Zemun quay, the area around Nebojsina Tower, the area between Brankov and the Old bridge, and Ada Ciganlija. All of these areas have been sandbagged and the military has been called in to help with the protective measures. The water level is expected to reach 757 centimetres in Zemun, which is a record for that area of the river.

Last night, the Public Water Supply, Plumbing and Sewerage Systems workers cleared out the manholes located on the Zemun quay near the Saran restaurant.

Srbijavoda Water Supply Director Ljubomir Dimitrijevic said that the current weather situation is very difficult, adding that the water level of the Danube is at a record height.

The government said that some 1,000 troops of Police, Gendarmerie, fire-fighters and other emergency units are helping to prevent the flooding and diminish the consequences. Both regular military soldiers and those serving as civilians have been added to the relief effort.

“We have put 1,200 soldiers to work who are serving their terms regularly. There are also 500 soldiers in civilian service; we also have reserves, so we will be here all 24 hours. There will be no problems.” Serbia-Montenegro Defence Minister Zoran Stankovic said.

While visiting Novi Sad yesterday, Serbian President Boris Tadic encouraged citizens as well as all other state institutions to help in preventing natural disasters of this nature.

“A lot of bad signals are coming from Hungary as far as the Tisa is concerned and it is important that in this state of emergency, we have the help of all state institutions and everyone who is responsible for flood prevention, as well as citizens in all municipalities.” Tadic said.

Situation critical outside Belgrade as well

Zrenjanin Municipal President Goran Knezevic has declared a state of emergency for his municipality, and the same is expected in many areas around Vojvodina.

Vojvodina Waterworks General Director Branislav Radanovic said that the situation on the Tisa River is critical.

“Large amounts of rainfall and storms which have reached this part of Vojvodina have caused additional problems, because we cannot bring any more sandbags to the shores.” Radanovic said.

“We are asking for additional help, companies that can give us more vehicles so that we can get the bags to the water and install them. The situation is very difficult, however, we are taking all possible measures and we hope that we will be successful. We have a few more days, because we are expecting the highest waves on the April 15 and 16. I would not make any predictions now. The water level has reached 789 centimetres near Titela, that is 16 centimetres higher than yesterday, and the water levels in Senta and Becej are higher by 30 centimetres, which shows the tendency of water travelling upstream from Hungary.” Radanovic said.