Balkan aid appeals underway as flood clean-up begins

International aid supplies have arrived at main cities in Bosnia and Serbia, but residents in flood affected villages say they've been left to fend for themselves.

A Bosnian man carrries a refrigerator in an attempt to save some belongings from his home - AAP-1.jpg
The waters are receding in Bosnia, and the full extent of the damage is now becoming heartbreakingly clear.

The destruction to an already impoverished country is now estimated to cost almost $1.5 billion.
"We need water, food and clothing. We have nothing. We've lost our house. We have nothing. We need help."
Humanitarian aid from the United States has arrived in major cities in Bosnia and Serbia, with soldiers distributing water purification equipment, generators, and wet weather gear.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is promising more.

"We are in close contact with the European Union to see where we can support relief and aid efforts further and let me assure you that we stand ready to help in any way we can if requested."

Nineteen European countries are also offering equipment and manpower, including Croatia - itself also affected by the floods.

Disaster response efforts have so far been based in major cities.

That leaves many in the worst hit villages outside of the Bosnian capital to cope on their own.

Sanela Cosic from Topcic Polje lost everything in the floods.

She says her family, her sister's family and her mother-in-law's family all lived in the one house, which has now been destroyed.

"We need water, food and clothing. We have nothing. We've lost our house. We have nothing. We need help."

Hundreds of thousands have been left homeless in Serbia and Bosnia.

Two decades after the wars that tore apart Yugoslavia and put much of the region on western financial support, Serbia and Bosnia must again ask Europe for a loan.

European Union Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva says the EU has responded immediately to the request for emergency assistance.

And the next step will be to ensure the future of the flood-affected countries.

"As soon as possible we need to move towards the assessment of the damage and then plans for reconstruction so the country, communities affected can come to life, 24to bring their communities to functioning level, hopefully more resilient to the risks of the future floods."

As an EU membership candidate, Serbia can apply for the union's Solidarity Fund for disaster relief.

However, Bosnia is counting on the EU's goodwill.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

By Abby Dinham



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world