Death toll reaches 20, new evacuations ordered

Death toll reaches 20, new evacuations ordered

ŠABAC, OBRENOVAC -- Local authorities in the town of Šabac, in western Serbia, on Monday announced that two more people had lost their lives in the floods.

The victims were found in Mrđenovac and Krupanj, and according to the Šabac administration, "most likely perished because they did not adhere to the evacuation order."

Later in the day authorities said the death toll in the town of Obrenovac now stood at 13.

On Sunday, 12 deaths were confirmed in Obrenovac and 17 overall in the worst flooding that hit Serbia in over a century.

According to Interior Minister Nebojša Stefanović, six of the victims in Obrenovac drowned, while seven died of natural causes.

Because of a flood wave and an expected rise in the water level of the nearby Sava River, urgent and complete evacuation of Obrenovac was ordered on Monday afternoon. Hours later, it was announced that the river burst a sandbag barrier in three locations, but that evacuations were proceeding as planned and that there was "no need to panic."

The town was last week devastated by the flooding Kolubara River, whose waters had in the meantime started to recede.

Also on Monday afternoon, evacuation was ongoing of some 8,500 people from the villages near the town of Šabac along the Sava.

(Tanjug)

Serbian Army chief General Ljubiša Diković, who coordinates the emergency HQ in Šabac, ordered the evacuation on Monday morning.

"The water level around Šabac is receding, but that does not mean the danger is over. The embankments are full of water and there is a real danger that they will break. We had a very difficult situation last night near Červentija...