EBRD Estimates Cost of Flood Damages in Serbia and B&H At EUR 3 B

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) estimated the damages from the devastating floods in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at around EUR 3B. 

Official estimates of the cost are not available yet, but in its report the EBRD put the damage at around EUR 1.5-2 B in Serbia and about EUR 1.3B in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The agriculture sector, which accounts for about 10% of GDP in Serbia and 6% in Bosnia, has been particularly badly affected. Most of the arable land in flooded areas has been destroyed and the damage in both countries could be in the hundreds of millions in euros.

Power generation and mining has been heavily disrupted, especially in Serbia, where the damage to the state-owned power company EPS is likely to be extremely costly.

Serbia’s largest mining complex Kolubara, crucial for the country’s energy system as it provides coal to the thermal power plants that produce more than 50% of the energy Serbia needs, has been flooded.

Roads and railways, as well as water supply and energy transmission infrastructure, have been badly hit too, which will cause major problems for the free movement of goods and people and affect businesses across the region.

Furthermore, the stricken areas in Bosnia are also at risk from mines, a legacy of the war in the 1990s, dislodged by the floods and landslides. And public health is under threat from the contamination of drinking water supplies and therefore disease.

The floods could also have a sizeable macro-economic impact on Serbia and Bosnia, affecting short-term growth and inflation as well as their policy priorities and the budget for this year.