Serbia battles floods, more than 7,600 evacuated

Serbia battles floods, more than 7,600 evacuated

The situation is the worst in the Belgrade municipality of Obrenovac, where at least one person is missing, and according to Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, there are fears that there could be more victims.

Things were dramatic in Obrenovac on Thursday night, because the Kolubara broke the levee and flooded 90 percent of the city.

According to the Interior Ministry, more than 2,500 people have been evacuated from Obrenovac, and there are another 200 requests for evacuation. The situation is further complicated by the coming night, since the power in the city has been cut for safety reasons.

Vucic visited the area by boat on Friday and said the situation was catastrophic, and that the city would have to be evacuated completely.

The situation with the floods in Serbia is far worse than it seemed at first and could become even more difficult, Vucic pointed out. He called on the people to help build levees along the Sava River , which is posing a serious threat to the city of Šabac.

The situation in some of the municipalities that were under threat on Thursday has stabilized, but the ongoing rain has made things worse in a number of other locations in western Serbia since Thursday night.

Svilajnac and the village of Serdare have been flooded by the Resava River and there is no electricity or drinking water there. The rescue teams are being helped by the military, so 300 residents have been evacuated from rooftops.

The situation is critical in the municipality of Ub as well, where one person is missing, 20 have been injured and 4,000 people have been evacuated from 18 villages. There are 500 households in danger in Koceljeva and 150 are under water, while 500 houses were flooded in Osečina on Thursday night and another 700 are in danger of suffering the same fate. A large number of landslides has also occurred.

Around 50 percent of Paraćin is under water, and a number of patients from the local hospital have been transported to Ćuprija.

There 1,500 houses under water in the municipality of Jagodina, while 101 homes have been flooded in Paraćin and another 10,000 are under threat.

Around 500 residents of Lajkovac have been evacuated. The water has caused huge property damage in the area and the road to Valjevo is cut off.

Around 300 landslides have occurred in Kosjerić, so transport is down in the entire municipality.

The Western Morava has flooded 1,000 homes in Kraljevo. The situation in Čačak is also very difficult. The amount of rain in the city is the biggest in the last 117 years, resulting in 200 houses being flooded.

The situation is alarming in the town of Loznica as well, where around 20,000 people are at risk from the floods. Some 2,000 ha of agricultural land in the surrounding villages are flooded and 5,000 homesteads are cut off, without electricity, with food and water being delivered by boat.

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