At least 16 individuals have lost their lives in floods across Bosnia and Herzegovina, with many more reported missing as relentless rain and landslides wreaked havoc on homes, roads, and bridges throughout the central region of the country, according to officials.
The municipality of Jablanica, located approximately 70km southwest of the capital, Sarajevo, was entirely isolated after the destruction of road and railway connections.
Sixteen fatalities were confirmed, predominantly in the Jablanica area, as reported by cantonal interior ministry spokesperson Ljudevit Maric to Reuters.
“The search for missing persons is ongoing,” he stated.
The Irish government expressed profound sadness at the loss of life following the catastrophic floods in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the victims’ families, and we stand in solidarity with all those impacted. #BiH
— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) October 4, 2024
Several homes have been reduced to rubble from landslides, marking what seems to be Bosnia’s most severe flooding incident since at least 2014, when the floods resulted in over 20 fatalities.
“Numerous individuals are reported as missing,” remarked Darko Jukan, a spokesperson for the regional government.
“In some areas, only fragments of roofs are visible. I cannot recall a crisis of this scale since the (1992-1995) war,” he noted.
During an emergency session, Bosnia’s central government announced plans to allocate funds for the recovery efforts in the affected regions.
The government of the Bosniak-Croat Federation proclaimed a state of natural disaster in the flood-stricken areas and established a crisis committee to assist in mitigating the situation.
Neighboring countries, Croatia and Serbia, also offered aid to Bosnia in the ongoing rescue operations.
Aldin Brasnjic, the head of the Civil Defence administration in the Bosniak-Croat Federation, stated that rescuers were unable to access several villages due to obstructed roads, and predicted that forthcoming rains would complicate their efforts further.
“Currently, the search for the missing is our priority. We anticipate completing this task today and tomorrow,” he mentioned.
‘Disastrous situation’
In a video shared with Reuters, Robert Oroz depicted his village of Luke, near the town of Fojnica in central Bosnia, overwhelmed by floodwaters and scattered with tree trunks, logs, branches, and debris.
He noted that although the water levels had decreased for a while, they began to rise again.
“The scenario is disastrous… A smokehouse for meat used to be here, but it no longer exists,” he lamented.
The town of Kiseljak in central Bosnia was submerged after a river overflowed its banks.
Brown water swelled at the doors of shops and residences, as evidenced by drone footage captured by Reuters, though the floodwaters started to recede by the afternoon.
The flooding in Bosnia followed an unprecedented summer drought that caused many rivers and lakes to dry up, impacting agriculture and the water supply to urban areas throughout the Balkans and much of Europe.
Meteorologists attributed the extreme weather fluctuations to climate change.
Neighboring Croatia also experienced flooding; however, there were no reported casualties.
Authorities issued severe weather warnings for the Adriatic coast and central regions of Croatia.
Montenegro and Serbia have similarly issued warnings.
