Helicopter rescues trapped man after flood in The Balkans

European countries formerly divided by the Bosnian war are today united by catastrophic flooding and the European Union is rushing to their rescue. The European Union Civil Protection Mechanism was activated late Thursday at the requests of Serbia and of Bosnia and Herzegovina due to severe flooding that has inundated large areas of both countries. On Thursday, the government of Serbia declared the whole country to be in a State of Emergency, due to flooding caused by heavy rainfall since May 13 amounting to 71mm (2.8 inches) of rain in Loznica, western Serbia and a similar amount in Nis in the south. High capacity water pumps and expert teams to operate them are urgently needed in Serbia, where three people have died in the flooding. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said the flooding was, “The worst natural catastrophe that has ever hit Serbia.” Roughly 4,600 Serbs have been forced to evacuate their homes, while government estimates show 85,000 households are without electricity, as a large number of power plants have been flooded. The rivers Kolubara, Jasenica, Ubu, Mlava and Pek continue to exceed the flood emergency levels along parts of their courses, while all rivers in the country show a tendency for further flooding. Within hours of the Serbian request for assistance Germany, Bulgaria, Austria and Slovenia offered help. Their assistance, made through the year-old EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre, will be deployed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to the flooded areas in Serbia. The Serbian government also has appealed for help from Russia, and the Russian Emergencies Ministry announced that it will send in rescue personnel. The rainfall in Bosnia has been the heaviest in its 120 year long history of recorded weather measurements.