Floods soak homes, cut roads in Serbia, Bosnia amid rains

BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia has introduced emergency measures in several municipalities after heavy rains in the past few days caused widespread damage as rivers overflowed, authorities said Tuesday.

Surging rivers led to around 700 houses being flooded in western and central Serbia, according to state RTS television. Some 70 families in the western town of Ljubovija have been forced to evacuate their homes.

Local official Milan Kovacevic described the situation in the town as “dramatic” after the Ljubovidja river overwhelmed flood protection in some places. Dozens of people have been left without electricity or water.

“Everyone was doing their best to beef up the banks, but it wasn’t enough,” he told RTS.

Traffic has also been snarled as the rivers burst their banks and there are mounting concerns of landslides.

In neighboring Bosnia, a landslide cut a key road connecting the central town of Tuzla with the capital Sarajevo.

Floods also have hit a western area in Bosnia, damaging roads, bridges and houses in the Balkan country.

Both Serbia and Bosnia were hit by major flooding in 2014 when dozens of people died and entire towns were soaked under water.