Bosnia Says One Million People Affected by Floods

“More than a million people are without water, around a quarter of the population has been endangered by this catastrophe,” Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdija said on Monday.

Some 100,000 houses have been damages across the country, he added.

It is still unclear how many have died in the worst flooding to hit the country in more than a century, but unofficial estimates have suggested that there have been around 30 fatalities.

Most perished in unexpected flash floods and sudden landslides caused by rivers bursting their banks, marooning towns and destroying homes. “There have been over 2,000 landslides,” Lagumdija said.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes since the floods first hit.

  Photo AP/ Sulejman Omerbasic

Despite the floods easing in some of the places that were worst-hit in recent days, such as Bijeljina, Doboj, Maglaj and Olovo, reports from northern Bosnia said that people there were still trying to hold back flooding by building improvised defences out of sandbags.

The towns of Odzak and Brcko were cut off and people were being evacuated, reports said.

Officials expressed continuing concern for people's health and security.

“More than a million people are without water, around a quarter of the population has been endangered by this catastrophe,” Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdija said on Monday.

Some 100,000 houses have been damages across the country, he added.

  Photo Mirnes Arnautovic, BIRN

It is still unclear how many have died in the worst flooding to hit the country in more than a century, but unofficial estimates have suggested that there have been around 30 fatalities.

Most perished in unexpected flash floods and sudden landslides...