Vesic: Belgrade will reduce number of centers for evacuees

BELGRADE - Goran Vesic, manager of the City of Belgrade, said Sunday that the number of relief centers in Belgrade will be reduced next week, adding that peak water levels in the capital are dropping today and the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers are safe.

Vesic told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the water levels on the rivers are below those triggering emergency flood protection and that additional walls that have been raised are enough and the capital is not at risk.

The city manager said that the ban on return to certain parts of the Belgrade municipality of Obrenovac is still in force as it is necessary to create the conditions for the return of evacuees to the town most badly hit in the recent flooding in the country.

When the people of Obrenovac are allowed return, there will be no need for so many relief centers in Belgrade, as facilities such as sports halls are not suitable for housing people, he said.

After the struggle to save lives, it is now crucial to create the conditions for the return of evacuees and the next step will be the evaluation of the extent of damages caused by the floods and creation of conditions for reconstruction, including receiving money for that.
“At this point, it is important to make inventories of the damage and we have until May 30 to finish that, and then an assessment of all damages will be made, and it has to be realistic,” said Vesic.

The extent of damages is already being assessed in the flood-hit Belgrade municipalities of Grocka, Lazarevac and Rakovica, and Belgrade has formed a commission to look at the consequences from landslides, which is headed by Deputy Mayor Andreja Mladenovic, said Vesic.