Water receding in the Balkans

International organisations are sending aid to the flood-stricken Balkans, as Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia begin to tackle a major clean-up.

balkan_flood_waters_aap.jpg

A picture made available on 19 May 2014 shows residents standing in the damage suffered by all the houses in the upper part Krupanj, Serbia, 18 May 2014. (AAP)

Receding floodwaters have allowed the stricken nations in the Balkans to shift focus away from rescues to clean-up and disease prevention, as the number of dead rose to 53.

In Croatia, Health Minister Rajko Ostojic declared an epidemic alert in flooded areas, triggering decontamination procedures where the water withdrew. The threat of epidemics was also ranked high in Bosnia and Serbia as soon as flooding began.

Though the water was dropping nearly everywhere, rivers remain swollen and emergency services in all three countries continue working on the soggy dykes and sandbag barriers.

Swells moving down the Sava and Danube rivers were posing a threat, but authorities said the situation was under control.

International organisations and uneffected countries have already begun sending and pledging assistance.

European Union (EU) Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva arrived in Belgrade for aid talks and visited the devastated nearby Obrenovac.

At the same time, EU Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that 19 of the EU's 28 member states have offered emergency aid to Serbia and Bosnia.

Serbia and Croatia also have access to the union's Solidarity Fund for disaster relief.

Bosnia poses more of a challenge because it has not been recognised as an EU membership candidate due to lagging reforms. Hahn indicated, however, that the bloc is looking at reallocating other funds to help the country cope with its floods.

NATO has also pledged to assist in the rebuilding effort.

Flooding struck after record rainfall dumped as much as 210 litres of water per square metre - three times the average for the entire month of May - in just three days last week.

The official death toll in the three countries stood at at least 48 on Wednesday.

The disaster, described as the worst flooding in the region since records began, affected millions of people and has caused damage that will run into billions of dollars.


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Source: AAP



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