Obrenovac under water, 800 people evacuated

BELGRADE - The situation with floods in the Belgrade area is the worst in the municipality of Obrenovac, because the river Kulubara flooded the centre of the city on Thursday night, so 80 percent of it is now under water.

Around 800 people were evacuated by Friday morning, 15 of them by helicopter, including a one-year-old child from the village of Poljane, south of Obrenovac, head of the Interior Ministry department for emergencies Predrag Maric has said.

One elderly person from Obrenovac is missing and could be the next victim of the floods in Serbia, he told Radio and Television of Serbia.

The rescue operation in Obrenovac includes 60 members of the Interior Ministry department for emergencies, firefighters and 110 members of the Gendermerie and the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit.

Maric says 45 Russian rescuers who were flown in to Nis on Thursday night with equipment will join them.

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic and Obrenovac Mayor Miroslav Cuckovic are actively involved in the operation around the stadium of FC Radnicki.

Power has been cut in the city for safety reasons, and all the roads are closed to facilitate the evacuation and avoid congestion, Maric explained.

Minister of Energy Aleksandar Antic, who visited Obrenovac at 2 a.m. CET on Friday, told Radio and Television of Serbia that superhuman efforts had been invested to prevent the water from reaching the city, but that the river Sava had breached the levee at a location called Breska and flooded the centre and the surrounding settlements.

The situation in the city is catastrophic, and the evacuation is made more difficult by the fact the people have not heeded the warning from...