A massive storm has dumped record rainfalls on the Balkans, causing severe flooding, especially in Serbia, and parts of Croatia and Bosnia. Schools have been closed in Serbia, where several people have drowned.
Serbian declared a nationwide flood emergency on Thursday and asked the EU and Russia for help. Entire towns were cut off. The slow-moving cyclone is forecast to persist until the weekend.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said his country was facing its "biggest water catastrophe in Serbia's history."
Meteorologists forecast that triple Serbia's average rainfall for May was expected to fall within just two-and-a-half days until Friday noon.
Residents of Maglaj, 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Belgrade, sat on roofs. Across Serbia, 100,000 households were without electricity.
Schools in the Serbian capital were closed for Thursday and Friday. Major traffic routes, such as the E-75 Belgrade-Skopje highway, were submerged. Serbia's rail link to Montenegro was severed.
Waters are rising everywhere," said Serbian emergency official Predrag Maric. "We have engaged all our manpower."
At least three people were killed in Serbia, including a woman whom firefighters said had drowned after she refused to be evacuated.
Storm also grips Bosnia, Croatia
In Bosnia, to the west, bridges were swept away by swollen rivers. The central Bosnian town of Topcic Polje, near Zenica, was bisected by landslides and raging waters (pictured).
The Sarajevo government ordered the deployment of army helicopters for evacuations.
High winds reaching 150 kilometers per hour forced the closure of sections of Croatia's Adriatic coastal highway.
Thousands of Croatian households have also been without power since Wednesday.
Croatia's meteorological service issued a "red alert," saying winds were powerful enough to carry debris at deadly speed.
The storm, a slow-moving cyclone, bringing sharp drops in temperature, is expected to drift to the east over the Balkans and then south to the eastern Mediterranean by the weekend
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said his country was facing its "biggest water catastrophe in Serbia's history."
Meteorologists forecast that triple Serbia's average rainfall for May was expected to fall within just two-and-a-half days until Friday noon.
Residents of Maglaj, 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Belgrade, sat on roofs. Across Serbia, 100,000 households were without electricity.
Schools in the Serbian capital were closed for Thursday and Friday. Major traffic routes, such as the E-75 Belgrade-Skopje highway, were submerged. Serbia's rail link to Montenegro was severed.
Waters are rising everywhere," said Serbian emergency official Predrag Maric. "We have engaged all our manpower."
At least three people were killed in Serbia, including a woman whom firefighters said had drowned after she refused to be evacuated.
Storm also grips Bosnia, Croatia
In Bosnia, to the west, bridges were swept away by swollen rivers. The central Bosnian town of Topcic Polje, near Zenica, was bisected by landslides and raging waters (pictured).
The Sarajevo government ordered the deployment of army helicopters for evacuations.
High winds reaching 150 kilometers per hour forced the closure of sections of Croatia's Adriatic coastal highway.
Thousands of Croatian households have also been without power since Wednesday.
Croatia's meteorological service issued a "red alert," saying winds were powerful enough to carry debris at deadly speed.
The storm, a slow-moving cyclone, bringing sharp drops in temperature, is expected to drift to the east over the Balkans and then south to the eastern Mediterranean by the weekend
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