PM: Fewer flood victims than first thought

PM: Fewer flood victims than first thought

BELGRADE -- Serbia has been affected by "millennial waters" PM Aleksandar Vučić said on Sunday as he chaired an emergency HQ set up to deal with the catastrophic floods.

The sad fact that there has been "a spillover" of rivers upstream in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina has given Serbia more time, according to him.

Vučić added that while damage was great in Obrenovac and that there was "a large number of victims" that number was lower than first thought.

"We avoided a disaster with good organization, although there were a few mistakes. It's not over, the dangers are now far lesser, but we still have to control the Sava River," Vučić said at the meeting.

He added that on Saturday, two bodies were found in Obrenovac, and that the good news was that no victims were found in the areas of the town from which the flood water had receded.

The prime minister explained that evacuation of Sremska Rača was ongoing, along with that near the Kolubara River. He said the damage to the Kolubara coal mines alone could reach EUR 100 million.

The first damage assessment is expected in the coming days, said Minister Zorana Mihajlović, and announced that a commission that will do this work was set up and will meet on Monday.

Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić noted during the meeting that there were problems related to customs and regulations when it comes to humanitarian aid coming from abroad, and urged Finance Minister Lazar Krstić to make sure "the state reacts urgently, so that aid is brought in easier, and also to prevent abuses."

To that end, he suggested that it would be "the easiest" to allow humanitarian aid from abroad to...