Quarter of Bosnians Affected by Floods

Flood water in the town of Bosanski Samac in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Over 1 million Bosnians have been affected by the devastating floods and some 100,000 houses have been damaged.

The exact death toll in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still unknown, but it is estimated around 30.

"More than a million people are without water, around a quarter of the population has been endangered by this catastrophe. There have been over 2,000 landslides", Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdija said, quoted by Balkan Insight.

Soldiers, police, members of civil protection crews and rafting clubs have been involved in efforts to rescue people and supply flooded areas with food, water and other necessities.

Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure to avoid an outbreak of diseases, corpses of animals washed up by the floods will be destroyed, the government announced.

Another risk is that mines left from the Bosnian war in 1992–1995 could have been shifted as a result of the landslides.

Meanwhile in Obrenovac, near the Serbian capital Belgrade, the Sava River broke through the makeshift sandbag walls and flooded most of the town. Emergency Chief Predrag Maric said all affected areas around the river banks are being evacuated.

The floods over the weekend have also claimed dozens of lives in Serbia.

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