BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
Severe flooding caused significant damage in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina after uninterrupted torrential rains that have hit the region since Thursday. Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes on Friday in the Sarajevo suburbs of Otes and Rajlovac and in the city of Konjic, some 50 kilometers further south. Other areas in the vicinity of the Bosna and Neretva rivers and their tributaries also reported damage.
Elektroprijenos, the power transmission company, said the grid had been hit by rain in many places and the continued precipitation was not helping efforts to reroute power. By evening though, power had been restored to much of the city.
The only certified medical oxygen-refilling plant in the country, part of the German Messer Group, was evacuated after it flooded.
"We could not save the equipment," Avdo Delic, the general manager of Messer's branch in Bosnia, told The Associated Press. "We had to save lives." He added: "Water came fast like a tsunami and it is fortunate that the Civil Protection was there with rescue boats."
Delic expressed concerns that Bosnian hospitals could run out of oxygen cylinders to treat COVID-19 patients unless the operations are restored elsewhere.
Bosnia, with a population of 3.5 million people, has a vaccination rate of under 20%, one of the lowest in Europe. On Friday, officials reported 1,100 new daily coronavirus infections and 32 deaths.
Flash flooding wreaks havoc in Bosnia | DW | 05.11.2021
Severe flooding caused significant damage in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina after uninterrupted torrential rains that have hit the region since Thursday. Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes on Friday in the Sarajevo suburbs of Otes and Rajlovac and in the city of Konjic, some 50 kilometers further south. Other areas in the vicinity of the Bosna and Neretva rivers and their tributaries also reported damage.
Sarajevo without power
The rising waters caused power outages in much of Sarajevo as residents of the capital went without electricity for hours.Elektroprijenos, the power transmission company, said the grid had been hit by rain in many places and the continued precipitation was not helping efforts to reroute power. By evening though, power had been restored to much of the city.
The only certified medical oxygen-refilling plant in the country, part of the German Messer Group, was evacuated after it flooded.
"We could not save the equipment," Avdo Delic, the general manager of Messer's branch in Bosnia, told The Associated Press. "We had to save lives." He added: "Water came fast like a tsunami and it is fortunate that the Civil Protection was there with rescue boats."
Delic expressed concerns that Bosnian hospitals could run out of oxygen cylinders to treat COVID-19 patients unless the operations are restored elsewhere.
Bosnia, with a population of 3.5 million people, has a vaccination rate of under 20%, one of the lowest in Europe. On Friday, officials reported 1,100 new daily coronavirus infections and 32 deaths.
Flash flooding wreaks havoc in Bosnia | DW | 05.11.2021
