State of emergency lifted in Kragujevac

KRAGUJEVAC - State of emergency in Kragujevac, central Serbia, declared two days ago due to heavy rainfall and strong winds, was lifted on Wednesday.

This decision was made by Kragujevac mayor Veroljub Stevanovic at the suggestion of the emergency situations headquarters, as the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute of Serbia did not issue any new severe weather alerts.

The situation in the territory of six local communities under threat is now stable and efforts to restore the damage are well underway.

Nearly 70 percent of flooded homes have been cleaned and their disinfection is to follow, said Zoran Jovanovic, deputy commander of the emergency situations headquarters.

He added that 72 persons who have been evacuated from their flooded homes will be able to return in two to three days.

More than 50 liters of rain per square meter fell in Kragujevac late on Monday, causing the Bresnica Creek and storm drains to overflow. Around 50 residential and commercial buildings were flooded, as well as agricultural lands in the surrounding villages.

Photo Tanjug/M. Milivojevic