Serbia battling rising rivers, some flooding in Belgrade

Belgrade_(dpa) _ With some of its streets already submerged, Belgrade was bracing Tuesday for an even higher water level on the rivers Danube and Sava, forcing the army to help with additional protection.
Soldiers were packing sandbags above the right bank of the Sava, which already flooded a large traffic artery over the weekend. Fears were expressed that if the river rose further it could submerge a downtown section around the main bus and train stations.

The 1,000-kilometre-long river confluences with the Danube at Belgrade.

Emergency measures were also taken along the Danube's right bank, as the swell on the river was expected to peak on Thursday. Embankments beneath the Kalemegdan fortress and the heavily populated old section of the city were already partly under water.

The situation was described as "critical" in the Zemun and New Belgrade parts of town, where sandbags were lined on top of a slope above the already submerged quay.

Rising water also created problems for hundreds of boathouse cafes, bars, restaurants and discos, which have had to be frequently reanchored over the past week.

High water had meanwhile already reached Serbia's second largest city, Novi Sad, 80 kilometres northwest of the capital.

Local authorities said additional protection would prevent a major disaster, but have already drawn plenty of fire from the population and media after they underestimated the volume of the Danube swell.

Further upstream, in Croatia, authorities were already dealing with damage as the swell submerged large parts of the north-east, in in what was described as the worst flooding in more than 40 years.

Prime Minister Ivo Sanader visited the area Monday and promised emergency aid to the hard-hit Vukovar and other towns. He also said he would launch an initiative for closer cooperation between Danubian countries to prevent future disasters.

Downstream, in Romania and Bulgaria, the peak of the Danube's flood wave was still days away, but measures were being taken as the water continued to steadily rise.

Even after the flooding peaks, the high water was expected to linger and cause problems over the next six weeks. Officials in Serbia said they would not be able to begin assessing damage before May 1. dpa bb ch