Kolubara

LONDON - The devastating floods in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have already damaged their economies and will hit growth and inflation in the future as well, believes the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), adding that some very rough preliminary estimates put the damage in Serbia at around EUR 1.5-2 billion.

A clean-up of the flood-stricken town of Obrenovac started on Thursday, although local residents have been told not to return to their homes just yet.

The police on Wednesday night called on owners and renters in certain streets in Obrenovac to report the extent of the flood damage and clean up their stores.

LAZAREVAC - The railway wagons loaded with coal have resumed transport from the Kolubara mining basin to the Nikola Tesla thermal power plant (TENT) in Obrenovac on Thursday, after a week long interruption due to heavy floods.

BELGRADE - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stated on Wednesday that Serbia will have a four-pronged approach to the country's recovery and damage repair including the electric power system, road infrastructure, repair of houses and encouraging economic growth.

Vucic told a news briefing that the Serbian electric power system suffered the greatest damage in the floods.

Workers of the Nikola Tesla A power plant have gathered with volunteers and colleagues from the state power giant EPS in Obrenovac, southwest of Belgrade, to build an additional bulwark around the plant and protect it from potential flooding.

"We are not tired and we will work as long as necessary," one of the workers said.

Water levels receding; 22 now confirmed dead

BELGRADE -- The flood-stricken areas of Serbia had a quiet night as the Sava River water levels are receding, and no critical locations have been identified.

Official death toll now stands at 22, 14 of whom died in the town of Obrenovac.

Creators of the Serbian blog Druga Strana, which published critical posts on the Serbian state's handling of the flooding, were forced to shut it down on Tuesday after repeat attacks on the site.

"The site has been under heavy attack so we decided to shut it down in order not to compromise other sites on the server," Nenad Milosavljevic said.

Did Obrenovac have to fall

Perhaps it was not possible to prevent this disastrous flooding, but there is increasing number of indications that people from Obrenovac could have been evacuated on time.

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.

OBRENOVAC - The possibility of the Sava overflowing is the greatest threat to the power station Nikola Tesla in Obrenovac, where pumps are being used to drain underground water, as the water from the Sava would then merge with the flood water from the Kolubara, Serbia's Minister of Energy Aleksandar Antic said on Monday.