Bosnia: Emergency Declared After Floods, Landslides Kill 21

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Facts

  • Torrential rain in Bosnia and Herzegovina has caused severe flooding and landslides, resulting in at least 21 deaths in the central and southern regions of the country.[1][2]
  • Some areas in the municipality of Jablanica, located approximately 43 miles southwest of Sarajevo, have been completely cut off due to the destruction of road and railway links.[1][3]
  • Bosnia's inter-ethnic presidency has requested military assistance for the affected areas, while engineers, rescue units, and helicopters have been deployed to aid in evacuation efforts.[4]
  • As the death toll is expected to rise, a state of emergency has been declared to expedite search and rescue operations.[5][1]
  • Neighboring countries Croatia and Montenegro have also witnessed heavy rains and flooding. However, apart from infrastructural damage, no casualties have been reported.[6][7]
  • The recent floods follow an unprecedented summer drought that affected agriculture and water supply throughout the Balkans and most of Europe, with scientists attributing these weather changes to climate change.[8][3]

Sources: [1]Al Jazeera, [2]Euronews, [3]Reuters, [4]Guardian, [5]BBC News, [6]Sky News, [7]Associated Press (a) and [8]Associated Press (b).

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Arab News. This is the worst flooding Bosnia has seen since at least 2014, with the scale of destruction comparable to the aftermath of the 1992-1995 war. The situation is disastrous, and the search for missing persons is the top priority. The government has rightly declared a state of natural disaster and is allocating funds for recovery efforts.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Dw.Com and New York Times. While the immediate focus is on rescue operations, the long-term implications of climate change can't be ignored. The recent drought dried out the land, hampering its ability to absorb floodwaters. Human-caused climate change increases rainfall intensity as warm air holds more moisture, leading to more extreme weather events.

Predictions