Emergency HQ proposes closing Sabac-Sremska Mitrovica road

SABAC - The Sabac headquarters for emergencies has proposed that the road between Sabac and Sremska Mitrovica be closed because the Sava water level near that industrial city in western Serbia has risen by 80 percent in one day.

Preparations for protecting the city from the flood are under way, because the Sava is expected to reach a historic high in the next 48 hours.

The local population will be involved in building sandbag levees 5 km long following the instructions of the Directorate for Water of the Republic of Serbia, and a large number of people have volunteered to help the city, the local authorities have posted on their website.

The Sava is expected to rise to 650 cm above the normal water level, which the existing levee will not be able to hold.

The continuous rain that started more than two days ago stopped briefly on Friday.

Two nearby villages were evacuated on Thursday night.

The Drina flooded half the houses in Prnjavor, a place in the Sabac municipality, on Thursday night. It is estimated that 3,000 people from Prnjavor should be evacuated, the Sabac authorities say.

Photo Tanjug Video, camera operator Davorin Pavlovic (illustration)