OMEN
04-16-2006, 11:12 AM
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Parts of Serbia's capital Belgrade are under water
A state of emergency has been declared in 10 regions of Serbia, amid severe flooding across south-eastern Europe.
Hundreds of people in Smederevo, near Belgrade, were taken to safety as the waters of the Danube flooded the town.
Four other rivers also reached danger levels. The army and civilians are building defences against the floods.
The Danube has risen to its highest level since 1895 in Romania as tributaries swollen by melted snow have increased its volume.
The emergency follows floods in the Balkans last year, which left dozens of people dead and farmland and infrastructure damaged or destroyed.
Tent city
Smederevo, 40km (24 miles) east of Belgrade, was hardest hit in Serbia.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41560000/gif/_41560980_danube2_203x152.gif
What is left now is for us to trust in God that all will end well
Ivana Dulic Markovice
Serbian Agriculture Minister
Hundreds of houses in the area are under water.
A tent city with space for 1,200 has been erected near Vidin, in case residents need to flee their homes.
The city centre of the eastern town of Golubac on the Romanian border is also flooded.
Citizens and police are trying to build defences against the Danube as well as the Dunav, Sava, Tisa and Tamis rivers.
Sandbagging is also in operation in Belgrade, where some streets are under water.
The Danube is now flowing at nearly 16,000 cubic metres a second, more than twice the normal volume in April.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41564000/jpg/_41564232_danube203.jpg
Romanian soldiers have been reinforcing flood defences
The river is still rising and is expected to peak in most places on Tuesday.
"We are all mobilised and what is left now is for us to trust in God that all will end well," Serbian Agriculture Minister Ivana Dulic Markovic said.
In Romania authorities have begun the controlled flooding of up to 90,000 hectares (350 sq miles) of farmland to try to reduce the flow and the danger to communities downstream.
"We must not relive the nightmare of last year," Romanian Interior Minister Vasile Blaga said.
"We must act quickly to prevent the loss of human lives."
As civil defence workers scrambled to reinforce vulnerable areas with sandbags, they were helped by the collapse of a dam in south-western Romania which flooded farmland and let some of the pressure off.
"The water flow has fallen by 200 cubic metres per second. This is a success," Beatrice Popescu, of the environment ministry, told Reuters news agency.
In Bulgaria floodwaters reached record levels in the port city of Lom, home to 6,000 people.
BBC
Parts of Serbia's capital Belgrade are under water
A state of emergency has been declared in 10 regions of Serbia, amid severe flooding across south-eastern Europe.
Hundreds of people in Smederevo, near Belgrade, were taken to safety as the waters of the Danube flooded the town.
Four other rivers also reached danger levels. The army and civilians are building defences against the floods.
The Danube has risen to its highest level since 1895 in Romania as tributaries swollen by melted snow have increased its volume.
The emergency follows floods in the Balkans last year, which left dozens of people dead and farmland and infrastructure damaged or destroyed.
Tent city
Smederevo, 40km (24 miles) east of Belgrade, was hardest hit in Serbia.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41560000/gif/_41560980_danube2_203x152.gif
What is left now is for us to trust in God that all will end well
Ivana Dulic Markovice
Serbian Agriculture Minister
Hundreds of houses in the area are under water.
A tent city with space for 1,200 has been erected near Vidin, in case residents need to flee their homes.
The city centre of the eastern town of Golubac on the Romanian border is also flooded.
Citizens and police are trying to build defences against the Danube as well as the Dunav, Sava, Tisa and Tamis rivers.
Sandbagging is also in operation in Belgrade, where some streets are under water.
The Danube is now flowing at nearly 16,000 cubic metres a second, more than twice the normal volume in April.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41564000/jpg/_41564232_danube203.jpg
Romanian soldiers have been reinforcing flood defences
The river is still rising and is expected to peak in most places on Tuesday.
"We are all mobilised and what is left now is for us to trust in God that all will end well," Serbian Agriculture Minister Ivana Dulic Markovic said.
In Romania authorities have begun the controlled flooding of up to 90,000 hectares (350 sq miles) of farmland to try to reduce the flow and the danger to communities downstream.
"We must not relive the nightmare of last year," Romanian Interior Minister Vasile Blaga said.
"We must act quickly to prevent the loss of human lives."
As civil defence workers scrambled to reinforce vulnerable areas with sandbags, they were helped by the collapse of a dam in south-western Romania which flooded farmland and let some of the pressure off.
"The water flow has fallen by 200 cubic metres per second. This is a success," Beatrice Popescu, of the environment ministry, told Reuters news agency.
In Bulgaria floodwaters reached record levels in the port city of Lom, home to 6,000 people.
BBC