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Record Flooding In Balkans Destroys Communities

Flooded houses in Topcic Polje, near Zepce, in Bosnia, on Friday. The heaviest rains and floods in 120 years have hit Bosnia and Serbia, killing at least four people and forcing hundreds out of their homes.
Dado Ruvic
/
Reuters/Landov
Flooded houses in Topcic Polje, near Zepce, in Bosnia, on Friday. The heaviest rains and floods in 120 years have hit Bosnia and Serbia, killing at least four people and forcing hundreds out of their homes.

The worst flooding in Bosnia and Serbia since records began 120 years ago has swept away homes, triggered dozens of landslides, cut off whole communities and killed at least four people.

Heavy rainfall has inundated the Balkans.

In a dramatic video, part of what appears to be a bridge span ripped off by the Bosna River is swept downstream and destroys another bridge near the town of Zavidovici in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Army helicopters were evacuating thousands of people, but bad weather was hampering the efforts. At least 4,000 have been rescued, authorities said.

Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic called the situation the "greatest flooding disaster ever."

The BBC reports that the Serbian government has appealed for help to the European Union, Russia and its immediate neighbors.

Power has been cut to several regions in the Balkans, where an estimated 200 landslides have occurred as a result of the flooding.

The Associated Press reports that two people died in Serbia Thursday from the flooding and that on Friday, two others died in Bosnia.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.