Heavy rains were blamed for the deaths of two people in Albania, three in Montenegro and a two-year-old boy in Serbia – while roads were blocked and some schools in Serbia and Albania were closed.
Heavy rain during the weekend was blamed for a number of deaths in Western Balkan countries, while in some towns transportation was affected and some schools were suspended in Serbia and Albania.
In Montenegro, heavy rains caused flooding in northern and central parts and some local roads were cut off in the towns of Berane, Danilovgrad and Tuzi. On Sunday, police reported that three people drowned after their car was caught in the river near the capital, Podgorica.
Rivers overflowed in the southwest of Serbia in the Raska region. The towns of Novi Pazar, Tutin and Prijepolje were heavily flooded and a two-year-old boy drowned near Tutin in the river Vidrenjak, swollen by several hours of rain.
Primary and secondary schools in the Novi Pazar area were closed by the authorities, as large amounts of water were expected from the surrounding mountains during the night.
The river Lim overflowed in three locations in Prijepolje -– in Brodarevo, Ivanje and Zalug. Sports fields were flooded in Brodarevo and floods threatened to close the fire station. In Ivanje, water spilled onto the local road that runs along the river bank, while agricultural land was flooded in Zalug.
Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Davor Vidovic, said the Lim river in Prijepolje was high and had caused problems for the town and in the small municipality of Brodarevo, but that a barrier had been set up to protect them.
The President of Prijepolje Municipality, Vladimir Babic, said the Headquarters for Emergency Situations had banned crossing the local suspension bridge until the water level in the Lima returns to permitted limits.
Authorities imposed an urgent situation in western Serbia on Monday, near Cacak, due to the floods.
Kosovo experienced heavy rain since Friday, leading to floods especially in the north, in Mitrovica and Leposavic, and in the Dukagjin region – Peja/Pec, Istog/Istok, Decan, Gjakova/Djakovica.
The Hydrometeorological Institute of Kosovo on Monday said the heavy rain will continue until noon Monday, explaining that “this situation has caused floods in several areas”. Kosovo Energy Management Agency on Sunday said they are on alert 24/7.
The municipality of Istog on Sunday said several schools will be closed on Monday due to the floods. “After the heavy rain in the municipality of Istog, circulation has become difficult, and due to the danger posed by the passage of students on those roads, classes have been interrupted for the next day,” in several schools, the municipality announced.
Albania was also affected by the heavy rains, especially the northern part, in the Shkodra region, where dozens of houses were flooded. The Ministry of Defence said the armed forces were in the field helping people affected by the rain. Central towns like Durres and capital city Tirana were also affected, with roads not functioning for several hours. Two people died when their car fell in a river
Source: Balkan Insight
