Serbia Braces for New Flood Wave

Belgrade mayor Sinisa Mali said that the city was braced for another potential flood wave on Tuesday after widespread devastation caused by heavy rains drove tens of thousands from their homes in Serbia in recent days.

“All the [temporary defensive] walls [of sandbags] are finished in Belgrade,” Mali said on Sunday night, adding that an additional 50,000 sandbags were on standby in case of emergency.

Thousands of volunteers in Belgrade helped out over the weekend in an attempt to ensure that the city is protected.

Mali appealed to people to conserve electricity said that the city had switched off all decorative lighting.

The authorities said that 20 people have lost their lives in the flooding but they fear the figure may be much bigger.

The Serbian Interior Ministry said on Monday morning that so far 25,070 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the crisis. Some 26,000 households are without electricity.

However the situation is no longer critical in the Belgrade municipality of Obrenovac, where 12 people have lost their lives in recent days, after the rain receded and the water level decreased.

“The level of water in the town has decreased by two metres in the past 24 hours,” a report on Serbian public service broadcaster, RTS, said on Monday. But although 7,800 people have been evacuated from Obrenovac, another 2,500 still need to be moved out.

Thousands of rescuers in boats and police and army in helicopters were working for a fourth day on Monday to prevent further damage in Obrenovac, where the Kolubara river burst its banks and flooded 90 per cent of the area.

On Sunday, people could still be seen taking refuge on roofs in the town, while helicopters constantly...