Bosnia and Herzegovina is not done with the bad weather yet. The death toll from the floods and landslides caused by the torrential rains on Friday, October 4, rose to twenty-two, while six people remain missing as of Tuesday, October 8.
These floods and landslides swept away roads, railways and bridges, separating many populated areas from the rest of the country, and authorities are still working to connect some of them.
“The death toll from the floods in the territory of Herzegovina-Neretva amounts to nineteen”declared the canton government. The other three victims were found in the canton of Central Bosnia. Rescue teams are still searching for the missing, two in Konjic and four in Jablanica, authorities said.
A town buried in mud
Due to the expected heavy rains, the Civil Protection ordered, on Tuesday night, the immediate evacuation of citizens from the regions of Jablanica and Konjic, the most affected by Friday’s floods.
Donja Jablanica, located about 70 kilometers southwest of the capital Sarajevo, appears to have suffered the worst of the torrential rains, which isolated it from the rest of the country. The village was buried under mud, rocks and landslides, including remains of granite from a nearby quarry, with houses destroyed and vehicles damaged.
The government of the Croat-Muslim Federation, one of the two entities that make up Bosnia along with the Republika Srpska, declared a state of natural disaster on Friday and established a crisis headquarters. The European Union (EU) Civil Protection Mechanism has also been activated and four countries in the region have already sent teams on the ground since the weekend.
Tuesday was proclaimed a day of mourning in the territory of Bosnia due to the catastrophic floods.
