Areas in central Croatia threatened by floods, Sava levels rising near Jasenovac

Marko Prpic/PIXSELL

Due to high river levels caused by heavy downpours over the last few days, some parts of central Croatia declared emergency measures on Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning, the situation was reportedly most difficult in the area around the towns of Karlovac and Hrvatska Kostajnica, with Sava river also rising in the area around the town of Jasenovac.

N1 reported that in Karlovac the water levels have remained at their current levels. Although about a dozen houses on the town’s outskirt have been flooded, officials said that the rest of the city is not in jeopardy.

Karlovac, which lies of the confluenbce of four rivers, periodically gets hit by springtime flooding. Most recently, emergency measures were declared there in March last year, when some 200 army soldiers were sent to assist in building makeshift dams and dykes.

“Just like year ago, the barriers were successful – without them, some 200 homes would have ended up flooded. But clearly, these are not the solution, what we need is a comprehensive flood defence system,” Karlovac mayor, Damir Mandic, told N1.

Although flood protection measures have been improved from last year, Mandic added, a more comprehensive system, financed by EU funding, is the job of the state-owned water management company Hrvatske Vode.

He also said that a better flood prevention system would begin construction in September.

Heavy rains which have started during the weekend have also caused flooding in parts of neighbouring Bosnia, where some areas in central and northwestern Bosnia were evacuated, while others had their access to electricity or roads cut off.

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