Attachments
Crisis overview
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Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have been affected by cyclone Tamara experiencing extremely heavy rain, strong winds and low temperatures (ACT Alliance 16/05/2014). On 13 May, continuous, heavy rainfall began, and the region recorded three months’ worth of rain in three days (WeaterChannel 17/05/2014). It is the worst rainfall recorded in BiH since 1894, when weather records first began (Reuters, 15/05/2014). In BiH, more than 40% of the country was under water (Islamic Relief, 16/05/2014).
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As of 18 May, more than 44 people have been reported killed in Serbia, BiH and Croatia, although government officials expect this figure to increase as water recedes. Overflowing rivers have burst into towns and villages, cutting off whole communities, while landslides have buried houses and cars (BBC, 16/05/2014).
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Officials have not yet come up with estimates of the damage caused by the floods, but they are expected to be high. The agricultural sector, on which the economies of the Balkan countries rely, is expected to bear the brunt of the record flooding (RT 18/05/2014).