- Title: SERBIA: Floodwaters in Serbia near 50-year high
- Date: 14th June 2013
- Summary: BEZDAN, SERBIA (JUNE 13, 2013) (REUTERS) WATER OUTSIDE A FLOODED RESTAURANT BOATS ON WATER/ FLOODED HOUSES BEHIND TRAFFIC SIGN AND LAMP POST SUBMERGED IN WATER WATER FLOWING IN RESTAURANT GARDEN MAN WALKING THROUGH WATER SMALL FISH SWIMMING IN WATER LOCAL FISHERMAN, LALE, PADDLING BOAT IN FLOODWATERS FLOODED CAR LALE ROWING PAST FLOODED HOUSES FLOODED HOUSES LALE ROWING IN FLOODWATERS FLOODED SHOP WITH SUBMERGED ICE-CREAM SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) BEZDAN FISHERMAN, LALE, SAYING: "There is damage, of course, material damage. Every weekend house has been damaged, but the biggest pity is that we cannot enjoy the lovely nature." VARIOUS OF BEZDAN RESIDENT FRANJA VARGA ROWING EXTERIOR OF FLOODED HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) BEZDAN RESIDENT, FRANJA VARGA, SAYING: "Well, in 2006 the Danube was at 736 centimetres, then at 722 in 2010 and now it is at 750." VARIOUS OF FLOODED HOLIDAY HOUSES FOUR PEOPLE IN BOAT PASSING BY VARIOUS OF WOMAN STANDING IN ENTRANCE TO FLOODED HOUSE APATIN, SERBIA (JUNE 13, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SERBIAN EMERGENCY AND RESCUE TEAM MEMBERS STANDING NEAR RIVER
- Embargoed: 29th June 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Serbia
- City:
- Country: Serbia
- Topics: Disasters,Environment,General
- Reuters ID: LVA5CZS91E7O6PHBI0B7TA6DFL0R
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Water levels in the Serbian stretch of the Danube river neared a 50-year high on Thursday (June 13), as the Balkan country braced for a wave of floods that have already ravaged parts of central Europe.
Authorities stressed they did not expect the kind of damage seen in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, where at least a dozen people died and tens of thousands were evacuated.
The army was placed on standby and dozens of people were evacuated from mainly weekend settlements on the banks of the Danube in Serbia's northern Vojvodina province, bordering Hungary and Croatia.
In the town of Bezdan, 200 kilometres north-west of Belgrade, weekend houses have been flooded for almost 10 days. Water levels on the Danube reached 752 centimetres (25 feet), just below the 1965 high of 776 centimetres.
"There is damage, of course, material damage. Every weekend house has been damaged, but the biggest pity is that we cannot enjoy the lovely nature," said Lale, a fishermen from the town.
Just a few kilometres downstream, one resident decided to stay in his flooded house. Franja Varga moved all his belongings to the first floor. Friends bring him food and water a couple of times a day.
"In 2006 the Danube was at 736 centimetres, then at 722 in 2010 and now it is at 750," he said.
Serbian emergency and rescue teams have been patrolling the area. In Apatin, a town that lies 180 kilometres north-west of Belgrade, the workers have been checking dams and the levels of the Danube.
Severe flooding might hit the fragile Serbian economy, which is heavily dependent on agriculture, mainly in the northern plains of Vojvodina. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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