Bosnia declares state of emergency after flooding kills 16

Rescue teams in the south said several people were missing and called on volunteers and the army to assist with search and rescue operations as roads were closed and houses left without electricity.

Bosnia’s government has declared a state of emergency after at least 16 people were killed in flooding and landslides caused by a severe rainstorm.

The flooding has affected several towns and villages in central and southern parts of the country, with surging waters rushing into people’s homes as they were sleeping.

Speaking at an emergency press conference in the capital Sarajevo, Deputy Prime Minister Vojin Mijatović said a crisis team had been put together and €10 million of funding had already been allocated for disaster relief.

“The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in a permanent session and has the task of coordinating activities and making available all federal firms, public enterprises for the purpose of helping flooded areas in the country and this headquarters has the task of coordinating activities together with the Civil Protection Headquarters,” he said.

Rescue services in the south said several people were missing and called on volunteers and the army to assist as roads were closed and houses left without electricity.

Josip Kalem, a resident of Fojnica, one of the towns hit by the floods, said his dog’s barking woke him up at around 4 am.

“I came down, woke up my wife, and we looked around, we could not get out of the house. We saw more and more water coming in,” he said.

“All of a sudden, the water was flooding the garage, basement, my car, everything. The water swept it all away, including my dog. Floods took it downstream.”

A spokesman for the local administration, said at least 14 people had died in and around the southern town of Jablanica but officials later said two more bodies have been found.

“Those are the ones who have been discovered by rescuers. We still don’t know the final death toll,” said Darko Juka.

Defence Minister Zukan Helez told N1 regional television that troops have been engaged to help and that the casualties were reported.

Helez said that “hour after hour we are receiving news about new victims. Our first priority is to save the people who are alive and buried in houses where the landslides are.”

Rescue services in the towns of Jablanica and Kiseljak said the power was off overnight and mobile phones lost their signal.

The Jablanica fire station said that the town was completely inaccessible because roads and trainlines were closed.

“The police informed us that the railroad is also blocked,” the state rescue service said in a statement. “You can’t get in or out of Jablanica at the moment. Landline phones are working, but mobile phones have no signal.”

President of the Central Election Commission, Irena Hadžiabdić, said on Friday that discussions were underway with local electoral commissions in the hardest-hit areas to postpone forthcoming municipal elections.

Bosnians are due to go to the polls across the country on Sunday to vote for mayors and local councillors.

Hadžiabdić said it hadn’t been decided yet whether to postpone the elections nationwide or only in flooded areas and that a final decision would be made on Saturday.

Around the region

Heavy rains and strong winds were also reported in neighbouring Croatia, where several roads were closed and the capital Zagreb prepared for the swollen Sava River to burst its banks.

It’s a similar picture in Slovenia where heavy rain has caused the Sava, Krka and Kolpa rivers to overflow, flooding several houses in the central village of Kot.

The national meteorological agency ARSAO has warned that more rain is expected and said there is a danger of landslides.

And floods caused were also reported in Montenegro, south of Bosnia, where some villages were cut off and roads and homes flooded.

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