Belgrade braced for swollen River Sava

BELGRADE - Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali said Monday that the Serbian capital has prepared itself well for the danger of the River Sava bursting its banks, adding that, given the hydrological forecast, the activities carried out should be sufficient to protect the city from the rising river.

“Belgrade has 12 kilometers of shore along the Sava that need to be protected and we fully protected the shore at Hill 76. Presently, water is about two and a half meters away from the defenses,” Mali told reporters while visiting the barriers near Belgrade Fair Grounds.

The Sava is rising slowly, about two centimeters per hour, which means that the lower parts of Belgrade are safe for the time being, he said.

Around 300 thousand sandbags have been raised along the banks, and 50 thousand more are in reserve.

“We have a plan for the second level of defense, but based on information about water levels on the Sava, my estimate is that the sandbag walls we have built will be enough,” Mali said.

The mayor said that electricity distribution in the city is normal even though the situation is difficult, adding that there will be no power cuts.

He pointed out that decorative lighting in the city has been switched off and called on the citizens to save on electricity wherever they can.

“Based on a decision by the crisis staff, the Nikola Tesla thermal power plant (in Belgrade's Obrenovac municipality) is being defended by all possible means, and the city of Belgrade has provided 60,000 sandbags that are being delivered to the plant,” Mali said.

Mali added that at least 100 tons of dead animals have been removed from Obrenovac and Lazarevac, another Belgrade's municipality, adding that it will...