Vucic: Obrenovac must be evacuated completely

OBRENOVAC - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Friday visited the Belgrade municipality of Obrenovac, the hardest hit by the floods in Serbia.

"The situation is catastrophic and the entire town will have to be evacuated," Vucic said after inspecting the situation from a boat. Obrenovac was flooded at dawn after embankments caved in.

Vucic spoke to Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, who is participating in the evacuation operation, and Russian Ambassador Alexander Chepurin as Russian rescue teams were expected to arrive.

Vucic warned that the situation could become even more difficult with the water level of the Sava river - whose tributary Kolubara flooded the town - expected to rise.

Maja Todorovic, the director of the local health centre, said that the Sava river has crushed the embankment at Breska, leaving the centre of the town and all nearby residential areas flooded, with the exception of Rajkovac.

A reception centre has been set up at a school in Rajkovac for the population and the staff of the health centre, which, too, has been flooded.

The Interior Ministry said that 90 percent of Obrenovac's territory and 900 buildings have been flooded, with another 1,388 buildings in danger.

One person has been reported missing, 2,500 people have been evacuated and another 14,000 are awaiting evacuation, with evacuation requests still coming in.

A pregnant woman, a one-year old child and a 15-day-old baby have been evacuated by helicopters, with seven medical teams deployed in the area.

With the flood still rushing in, the Nikola Tesla power plant has been forced to lower its output and consumers have been taken off the power grid for safety reasons.