Bosnia: Death toll mounts after flooding and landslides

Heavy rain in Bosnia-Herzegovina has caused deadly floods and landslides, with more downpours expected over the weekend. Most of the deaths happened in the town of Jablanica, which is "completely cut off," officials say.

At least 16 people have died in severe flooding and landslides in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a regional interior ministry government said on Friday.

Civil defense officials say the death toll from the floods is likely to rise.

The southeastern European country has faced unusually heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours. The deadly floods come just weeks after heavy rains prompted flooding in Central Europe.

 What we know about the floods

A mountainous region about 30 kilometers north of the city of Mostar was the worst affected.

The bodies were found in the mountainous Jablanica region, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of the city of Mostar and 70 kilometers southwest of Sarajevo.

Photos in local media show landslides that buried houses up to the roof. Only the minaret of a mosque was visible.

"The situation is very serious, many people cannot leave their homes," wrote Nermin Niksic, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the online service X.

The inter-ethnic presidency that governs Bosnia — a Bosniak, Serb, and Croat tripartite — said it had called for military help for Jablanica and the surrounding area, in Herzegovina-Neretva canton.

"Engineering and rescue units and a helicopter ... were urgently engaged to provide urgent assistance to civil authorities," it said in a statement.

Canton government spokesman Darko Jukan described the town of Jablanica, which has a population of 4,000, as "completely cut off from the world."

Further rain could hamper rescue efforts

Jukan warned that bad weather was forecast for the weekend as well.

"We don't know the exact number [of casualties] yet. I don't remember a crisis like this since the war, the scale of this chaotic situation is terrifying," said Juka.

Aldin Brasnjic, the head of the civil defense administration for the Bosniak-Croat federation, said rescuers still could not reach some villages because of blocked roads. He said upcoming rains would make their efforts more difficult.

"The search for the missing is priority at the moment. We think we will be able to complete this today and tomorrow," he said.

In the town of Kiseljak, around 20 kilometers from Sarajevo, numerous houses, gardens and cars were underwater on Friday, the AFP news agency reported.

Meanwhile, neighboring Croatia issued a flood warning for the coastal city of Rijeka and the country's interior.

Scientists have long warned that manmade climate change is increasing the likelihood, intensity and length of extreme weather events such as torrential rains.

rc/dj (AFP, AP, Beta, dpa, Reuters)