Heavy rain triggers flooding in Serbia

Floods in the Balkans this week have closed down schools, cut railway traffic and soaked homes and farmland. Flooding in Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo were triggered by heavy rainfall and unseasonably warm weather. Authorities in seven municipalities and towns in southwestern and southern Serbia have declared a state of emergency as they struggle to contain the surging waters.

Heavy rainfall has also triggered landslides. Floods were also reported on Friday in Kosovo, where the Ibar River and other smaller rivers and streams overflowed, endangering homes and cutting off local roads. Around 50 families were forced to evacuate homes in northern and western Kosovo with authorities deploying security forces to help.