Thousands of people crammed into boats and army trucks fled their homes in Serbia and Bosnia Sunday after record rainfall turned the Sava river into a deadly torrent and caused the worst floods in more than a century.
According to officials in both countries, the disaster has killed at least 44 people. Some towns have been completely cut off and rescue teams feared the worst as improving weather allowed them to move in.
Some 10,000 people have been evacuated so far from the worst affected areas of northern Bosnia. In the town of Samac, hundreds of stranded residents were waiting to be rescued.
"We sent rescue teams into a part of the city we had not been able to access so far. They are entering those areas fearing what they might discover," Mayor Samo Minic told reporters.
The worst rainfall since records began in the late 19th century caused landslides that brought more destruction and also prompted a landmine warning.
Bosnia's demining agency said residents around the towns of Doboj, Maglaj and Olovo -- which saw fierce fighting during the war in the 1990s -- should be particularly wary.
Twenty of the 27 deaths recorded in Bosnia occurred in Doboj while on the other side of the Sava river, in Serbia, at least 16 bodies were found.
In the town of "Obrenovac alone we recovered 12 corpses," Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said, bringing the toll in Serbia to 16.
"Unfortunately there are estimates that the death toll will be higher," he said.
Croatia has also confirmed one casualty, as a result of bad weather that engulfed much of central and parts of eastern Europe at the weekend.
Ukraine emergencies ministry said electricity had been cut to about 100 villages in the north and west because of heavy rains and winds but that no casualties had been reported.
'Once in 1,000 years'
In the Serbian capital Belgrade, dozens of schools and sport centres were turned into shelters for the thousands of evacuees plucked the disaster zones by boats, buses and helicopters.
Thousands of volunteers worked through the night to stack sandbags along the banks of the Sava river in Belgrade, expecting a "flooding wave".
Mayor Sinisa Mali said he was confident any swelling of the Danube tributary could be contained but there was still concern further up river.
"The biggest problem is still along the Sava river. An evacuation is under way in Sremska Raca. In other areas it's getting better," Vucic said.
"What happened to us happens once in a thousand years, not hundred but thousand years," he said.
Humanitarian aid, technical equipment and teams from Russia, the European Union, the United States and neighbouring Montenegro and Macedonia were pouring in, authorities said.
Expressing his gratefulness to all foreign countries for the aid, Vucic said Serbia now needed "food, baby food, diapers, all kind of clothes, medicaments, bottled water, disinfection and hygienic resources."
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, in Rome where he has reached the final of the Rome Masters, on Saturday posted an appeal for "support and solidarity for my people in Serbia!" on his Facebook page, where he has more than four million followers.
AFP
Sun May 18 2014
Some 10,000 people have been evacuated so far from the worst affected areas of northern Bosnia. -AFP Photo
IShowSpeed tiba di KL, terima baju batik daripada peminat
Speed menerima hadiah daripada beberapa orang peminat Malaysia ketika kenderaannya berhenti di lampu isyarat di ibu negara pada Selasa,
Penyanyi Sean Diddy ditangakp di New York
Penerbit muzik terkenal, Puff Daddy atau lebih dikenali sebagai Sean Diddy Combs yang berdepan dengan beberapa tuduhan serangan seksual telah diberkas di Manhatann, New York oleh ejen persekutuan pada Isnin waktu tempatan.
10 maut, puluhan cedera bas Iran terbalik
Menurut angka awal, kemalangan itu mengakibatkan 10 maut dan 41 cedera.
Malaysia perlu melabur dalam infrastruktur
Pengarah Eksekutif Ukrainian Prism, Hennadiy Maksak berpandangan, Malaysia juga tidak boleh bergantung kepada satu laluan, selain menjalin hubungan yang baik dengan negara-negara jiran.
Lebih 1,000 rakyat termasuk pejuang Hezbollah cedera parah
Lebih seribu rakyat Lubnan termasuk anggota pejuang Hezbollah dan petugas perubatan cedera parah dalam satu letupan pada Selasa.
Tetingkap Tunggal Nasional memudahkan operasi perdagangan antara Malaysia dan China
Menteri Pelaburan, Perdagangan dan Industri (MITI), Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz berpendapat inisiatif Tetingkap Tunggal Nasional (National single window) yang bakal diharmonikan Bersama system kastam China akan memudahkan operasi perniagaan dan perdagangan (ease of doing business) antara Malaysia dan China.
Medan selera perlu ditambah baik, kemudahan asas tidak lengkap
Air bergenang di lantai dan tempias sehingga meja makan mengakibatkan pengunjung basah. Itu situasi apabila keadaan hujan lebat di Medan Selera Taman Makmur di dalam Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Mahkota yang menempatkan deretan 12 kedai makan.
Calon manfaat platform media sosial dekati pengundi luar
Kempen Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Mahkota turut memberi tumpuan kepada penggunaan media sosial bagi menambat hati pengundi luar selain kempen secara bersemuka.
Seorang wanita maut jatuh lubang saluran air
Seorang wanita maut selepas terjatuh ke dalam lubang saluran air sedalam dua meter ketika menyertai aktiviti mendaki di Bukit Cherok Tok Kun pada Selasa.
Kerja pembersihan sisa kimia dijalankan pada Selasa
Kerja-kerja pembersihan sisa bahan kimia yang dibuang secara haram di Kawasan Perindustrian Tiong Nam dan Kawasan Perindustrian Tropika, Johor bermula pada Selasa.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Kawasan komuniti Bosnia di Kentucky berkabung kematian 14 penduduk
Ribut kuat berkenaan meranapkan rumah di kawasan kejiranan itu yang rata-ratanya dihuni oleh keluarga yang mempunyai anak kecil.
Terdengar azan di tengah padang pasir
Ryusei Nemoto berkongsi saat beliau menerima hidayah ALLAH SWT dan bersyukur kerana terpilih sebagai Muslim.
Bosnia ancam saman Covax jika tidak terima vaksin mengikut jadual
Bosnia akan menyaman program COVAX Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO) jika negara itu tidak menerima vaksin berkenaan seperti yang dijadualkan.
COVID-19: Pusat vaksinasi diperkasa di AS, vaksin tidak mencukupi di Bosnia
Pusat vaksinasi terbesar di AS akan dibuka di New York pada Rabu.
Bosnia bina hospital sementara susulan lonjakan kes COVID-19
Menteri Pembangunan Sarajevo Faruk Kapidzic pada Sabtu memaklumkan bahawa kemudahan itu akan berfungsi dengan segera.
25 tahun tragedi Srebrenica: 'Kegagalan ini menghantui kita selamanya' - PBB
Kata Guterres, masyarakat antarabangsa telah gagal melindungi rakyat Srebrenica ketika pembunuhan itu berlaku.
Selepas 25 tahun, sembilan mangsa pembunuhan Srebrenica dikebumikan semula
Hari ini menandakan 25 tahun sejak pembunuhan beramai-ramai di bandar Srebrenica di timur Bosnia.
354 rakyat Malaysia terkandas di Turki dibawa pulang esok
Seramai 354 orang rakyat Malaysia yang terkandas di Turki ekoran sekatan yang dikenakan oleh kerajaan negara itu susulan penularan wabak pandemik dijangka pulang ke tanah air, pada Jumaat.
Pusat Kecemerlangan Halal Global Malaysia akan dibuka di Bosnia - Dr Wan Azizah
Beliau berkata pusat itu akan menganjurkan program-program pembangunan kapasiti, dan latihan kepada industri untuk diiktiraf halal.