Balkan Flooding Worst Ever Recorded; @ Least 25 Dead; NE Bosnia One Big Lake

[hatrack]

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (AP) - Landslides triggered by unprecedented rains in Bosnia have left hundreds of people homeless, officials said Sunday, while thousands more have fled their homes in neighboring Croatia and Serbia as Balkan countries battle the region's worst flooding since modern records began.

Throughout hilly Bosnia, floods are triggering landslides covering roads, homes and whole villages. About 300 landslides have been reported, and stranded villagers often are being rescued by helicopter. "The situation is catastrophic," said Bosnia's refugee minister, Adil Osmanovic. Three months' worth of rain fell on the region in a three-day burst, creating the worst floods since rainfall measurements began 120 years ago.

Observed from the air, almost a third of Bosnia chiefly in the northeast resembles a huge muddy lake, with houses, roads and rail lines submerged. Officials say about a million people - more than a quarter of the country's population - live in the worst-affected areas.

The hillside village of Horozovina, close to the northeastern town of Tuzla, was practically split in two by a landslide that swallowed eight houses. More than 100 other houses were under threat from the restless earth. Residents told stories of narrow escapes from injury or death.

EDIT

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20140518_ap_4415d1ca088d48cba301c7aa231518bf.html

[hunter]

1. Another problem: Floods are moving landmines left over from the wars.

There are still more than 100,000 landmines littering the Bosnian countryside, according to the country's Mine Action Centre. Almost two decades on from the end of the conflict, people are still killed and injured every year.

Casualty numbers have reduced over the years, thanks to demining efforts and the mapping of minefields. Local people know the danger areas - and the safe paths.

But the torrential rain, floods and landslides are likely to cause the mines to move. Warning signs have already been washed away in a number of places. When the floods finally recede, there will be an urgent need for the deminers to move in.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27459184

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Balkan floods: Fears of new surge on Serbia's River Sava (BBC)

Emergency workers in Serbia are preparing for a "flood wave" on one of the country's main rivers.

Water levels on the River Sava are expected to peak later, threatening the country's biggest power plant.

It comes after the worst floods in the Balkans for decades left more than 35 dead and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

In Bosnia-Hercegovina, landslides have buried houses and disturbed landmines laid during the war in the 1990s.

The floods are also affecting Croatia.


{caption: Aerial footage showed flooding near Serbia's Tesla power plant}



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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27459184