Floods and Hailstorms Hit Serbian Towns

The Serbian Hydrometeorological Institute issued an 'orange' weather alert on Monday, warning people to be prepared for severe weather and heavy rains that could cause flooding in the eastern and south-western parts of the country.

The Institute warned that the water levels of several rivers in these regions might increase on Monday and Tuesday, possibly causing localised flooding.

Heavy rain and hail already caused floods on Sunday in the eastern Serbian towns of Golubac, Paracin and Veliko Gradiste, while rain stopped traffic in Serbia's second city, Novi Sad.

Morao sam u cizmama ..pola metra vode .. #novisad #detelinara #srbija pic.twitter.com/XgkDdj9jwC

? zarko bogosavljevic (@zarkobns) May 24, 2015

The water subsided during the night and local authorities started to clear up the streets.

"We are clearing the streets of mud and sludge and pumping the water out of basements," Vladica Buljubasa from Golubac municipality told news agency Tanjug on Monday, adding that the primary school and kindergarten in the town were closed for a day.

Armagedon! :-( #Golubac #nevreme @Novostionline pic.twitter.com/NzUryPpJpR

? Bojan Milojkovic (@BojanMilojkovic) May 24, 2015

Kad ti neprijatelj dodje s ledja. #golubac #poplave2015 pic.twitter.com/IyKPRELXOO

? Nemanja Kovic (@NemanjaKovic) May 25, 2015

The floods and hail caused significant damage to farmsteads in Golubac and Paracin, but exact assessments of the situation have yet to be made.

"We still don't have assessment of the damage that the hail, which was the size of a hazelnut, has caused. We will see tomorrow how wide an area was hit and which crops were affected," Sasa Paunovic, the mayor of...