Rainstorms and severe flooding have hit large parts of Bosnia, leaving at least 14 people dead

KISELJAK, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A heavy rainstorm hit Bosnia overnight Friday, killing at least 14 people in floods and landslides in several towns and villages in the center and south of the country.

Emergency services in the south of the country reported several people missing and called on volunteers and the army to help as roads were closed and homes remained without power.

Darko Juka, a local administration spokesman, said at least 14 people had died in and around the southern town of Jablanica.

“These are the ones that were discovered by rescuers,” he said. “We still don’t know the final death toll.”

“I can’t remember a crisis like this since the war,” Juka said, referring to the 1992-95 war in Bosnia that left the country in ruins. “The scale of this chaotic situation is shocking.”

Defense Minister Zukan Helez told regional television N1 that troops had been deployed to help and that casualties had been reported.

Helez said: “Hour after hour we are receiving news of new victims… We have sent everything we could. “Our first priority is to rescue the people living and buried in the houses of the landslides.”

A pregnant woman lost her baby after she was rescued from floods and taken to a hospital in the regional center of Mostar. Authorities said doctors were also fighting for their lives. Separately, a child was successfully rescued and hospitalized, local officials said.

Emergency services in the towns of Jablanica and Kiseljak said power was out overnight and cellphones lost their signal.

The Jablanica fire station said that the city was completely inaccessible due to the closure of roads and railway lines.

“The police have informed us that the railway line is also closed,” said a statement from the state rescue service. “You can't drive in or out of Jablanica at the moment. Landline phones work, but cell phones have no signal.”

It urged people not to go out on the flooded streets.

Man-made climate change increases the intensity of precipitation because warm air stores more moisture. This summer the Balkans were also hit by a protracted crisis Record temperatureswhich led to a drought. Scientists said the parched land had hindered the absorption of flood waters.

Drone footage broadcast by Bosnian media showed villages and towns completely submerged, while videos on social media showed dramatic scenes of muddy torrents and damaged roads.

Photos show that one of the busiest roads connecting Sarajevo to the Adriatic coast via Jablanica was washed into a river along with a railway line by a huge landslide.

“Many people are at risk from large amounts of water and landslides. There is information about victims and many injured and missing people,” said the civil protection service.

Authorities urged people to stay on upper floors. The water reportedly washed away pets and cars, while water quickly filled the lower floors of the buildings.

The heavy rains and strong winds were also reported in neighboring Croatia, where several roads were closed and the capital Zagreb prepared for the swelling Sava River to burst its banks.

Strong winds disrupted traffic along the southern coast of the Adriatic and flash floods caused by heavy rain threatened several towns and villages in Croatia.

Flooding from torrential rain was also reported in Montenegro, south of Bosnia, where some villages were cut off and roads and houses were flooded.

—-

AP writers Dusan Stojanovic and Jovana Gec contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.