A local resident carries food for workers in a flooded residential area in Zlate, Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 7, 2024. AMEL EMRIC / REUTERS
At least 22 people have died in the devastating floods and landslides that hit Bosnia last week as rescue teams still search for six missing people, authorities said on Tuesday, October 8.
With new heavy rains expected, the civil protection service ordered the immediate evacuation of citizens from the endangered Jablanica and Konjic regions that bore the brunt of Friday’s floods.
The government of the southern Herzegovina-Neretva canton − where Jablanica and Konjic are located − said that 19 people had died there, citing data from police and the civil protection service. The other three victims were found in the Central-Bosnian canton.
The floods and landslides that hit the country on Friday washed away roads, railway tracks and bridges, cutting off many populated areas, with authorities still struggling to access some of them.
The village of Donja Jablanica, located about 70 kilometers southwest of the capital Sarajevo, appeared to have suffered the worst of the downpours. It was buried under mud, rocks and granite debris from a nearby quarry, with homes destroyed and vehicles wrecked.
Rescue teams were still combing the area for the missing, two in Konjic and four in Jablanica, authorities said.
The government of the Muslim-Croat Federation, one of two entities making up Bosnia, along with Republika Srpska, declared a state of natural disaster and established a crisis center on Friday.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism was also activated with four countries from the region sending teams to assist local rescue workers.
Authorities declared Tuesday to be a day of mourning in Bosnia.