Call for help from the Balkans as landslides add to flood misery
- 10 years ago
Landslides are bringing more misery to the Balkans, with homes collapsing after record rainfall that has left at least 45 people dead.
International emergency aid teams are working in Bosnia and Serbia where tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes but more help is needed.
It follows the Balkan region’s worst deluge in more than a century, with three months worth of rain falling in the space of a few days.
“What we need most is more medication for blood pressure, diabetes and diarrhoea as well as painkillers,” said one local doctor in the northeastern Bosnian city of Samac.
“We can distribute it to the people who are staying here.”
The River Sava, swollen by days of torrential rain, has already burst its banks and levels were expected to rise further.
But rains have eased and flood waters receded in many places. It has revealed the full extent of the damage.
As people pour into makeshift shelters, including a big sports centre in Serbia’s capital Belgrade, tennis ace and national hero Novak Djokovic has added his voice to calls for help for his homeland.
International emergency aid teams are working in Bosnia and Serbia where tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes but more help is needed.
It follows the Balkan region’s worst deluge in more than a century, with three months worth of rain falling in the space of a few days.
“What we need most is more medication for blood pressure, diabetes and diarrhoea as well as painkillers,” said one local doctor in the northeastern Bosnian city of Samac.
“We can distribute it to the people who are staying here.”
The River Sava, swollen by days of torrential rain, has already burst its banks and levels were expected to rise further.
But rains have eased and flood waters receded in many places. It has revealed the full extent of the damage.
As people pour into makeshift shelters, including a big sports centre in Serbia’s capital Belgrade, tennis ace and national hero Novak Djokovic has added his voice to calls for help for his homeland.