On Saturday, search teams sifted through debris in the village of Donja Jablanica, looking for individuals lost in what’s been named Bosnia’s most catastrophic flooding in years, which took place the previous day. Darko Juka, a cantonal government representative, informed journalists that Saturday’s government count yielded a death toll of 13 in the Jablanica vicinity, situated 70km southwest of Sarajevo. A contrasting report on Friday had Juka stating that 16 people had perished.
N1 TV broadcasted earlier that Saturday that 21 fatalities were claimed by the floods and many individuals were unaccounted for. Workers used heavy machinery to remove debris, revealing buried vehicles and homes, as potential survivors were assessed.
A 74-year old citizen, Alka Glusic, tearfully reported the loss of her brother and his immediate family in the disaster, leaving her and her sister domiciled in a different house.
Due to an overnight deluge, search operations were temporarily suspended, reported Bosnian press. However, with subsiding rainfall, the operations resumed. Within Donja Jablanica, numerous homes remained buried under the debris.
Although unharmed, 62-year old resident Nezima Begovic, expressed distress as her home succumbed to the flood damage.
The catastrophe on Friday resulted from a quarry collapse atop Donja Jablanica due to flash flooding, causing debris to fall over the village’s houses and cars. Enes Imamovic, a 66-year-old local, described being awoken around 5am by the commotion, recounting that his neighbour’s home was obliterated amidst white dust and debris raining down from the quarry.
The Bosnian Football Association rescheduled all matches given the flooding. Affected by the floods, the election commission of Bosnia opted for a delay in local elections in those municipalities, while allowing voting to continue elsewhere.
These floods came after an unparalleled summer drought which led to the drying up of many lakes and rivers, adversely impacting the agriculture sector and urban water supplies across the Balkans and large parts of Europe. Weather experts have identified climate change as the cause behind these severe fluctuations in weather conditions.