Floods recede to reveal Balkan desolation

The first of some 150,000 people evacuated from the flood-hit Balkans are returning home, but many areas still remain under water.

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Floodwaters have crept lower in the shellshocked Balkans to reveal widespread devastation after the region's deadliest natural disaster since records began more than a century ago.

As thousands of relief workers began an immense clean-up operation, the first of some 150,000 people evacuated over the past week were allowed to return to their towns and villages to pick up the pieces.

But many places as well as vast tracts of farmland remain under muddy brown water, large areas are without power, and those returning - if their home still exists - returned to a disaster area.

Fifty-one people are confirmed to have died, but this could rise.

There is a risk of epidemics from rotting livestock carcasses, while dislodged landmines from the 1990s Yugoslav wars in Bosnia may be lurking in the mud and debris.

One such device exploded on Tuesday in northern Bosnia, although no one was injured.

There are estimated to be more than 120,000 unexploded mines littered around Bosnia.

With temperatures approaching 30 degrees Celsius, health officials are working hard to recover dead livestock and spraying to try to prevent a plague of mosquitoes.

The deluge began last week when record amounts of rain lashed south-eastern Europe, turning the Sava river and its tributaries in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia into raging torrents that burst their banks.

In scenes reminiscent of the chaos of the 1990s conflicts, more than 1.6 million people across the Balkans were affected.

More than 30,000 people were evacuated in Serbia, with some 1750 buildings destroyed and 2250 flooded - not counting the town of Obrenovac, the worst affected.

In Bosnia 100,000 had to flee, while in Croatia, which escaped the worst damage, authorities said 38,000 people have been affected, with some 2000 houses and 199 farms destroyed.


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Source: AAP



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