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Death toll rises to 26 in Bosnia floods as rescue teams search for survivors

Rescuers search for missing people after floods and landslides in the village of Donja Jablanica, 5 October 2024
Rescuers search for missing people after floods and landslides in the village of Donja Jablanica, 5 October 2024 Copyright  AP Photo/Armin Durgut
Copyright AP Photo/Armin Durgut
By Tamsin Paternoster with AP
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The storm earlier in October caused multiple deaths and ravaged infrastructure in the central and southern parts of the country.

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The death toll from a series of devastating floods and landslides in Bosnia has reached 26 people, with rescue teams still searching for at least one person in the aftermath of the floods.

Torrential rains and winds hit four municipalities in country's southern and central parts on 4 October, destroying houses, roads and cutting off power infrastructure to several villages.

More than 10 days after the storm, rescue teams are still searching for those missing, including in the southern village of Jablanica, which was buried under a barrage of rocks from a quarry in the hill above.

19 people were killed in Jablanica alone, with a collective funeral scheduled for Tuesday.

Over a thousand people from nearby towns and cities came to search for survivors and clear away debris in the village after the flooding, according to local media.

Aerial view of a stranded boat stuck at the dam on the Neretva river caused by landslides, torrential rain and flash floods in Grabovica, Bosnia, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024.
Aerial view of a stranded boat stuck at the dam on the Neretva river caused by landslides, torrential rain and flash floods in Grabovica, Bosnia, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. Armin Durgut/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved

Residents of the town say they were awoken in the middle of the night by a thundering rumble as flood waters swept away property.

Debris from the flooding has clogged the famous Neretva River, a popular destination for tourists within and outside of Bosnia. The river, which is normally an emerald green colour, has been clogged with waste leftover from the floods.

Bosnia was hit by record temperatures this summer as three heatwaves caused disruptive blackouts and threatened the country's agricultural industry.

The country saw almost no rain for an entire summer, with daily temperatures hovering between 35C and 40C for several days in June, July and August.

Scientists suggest that the drought caused by the extreme temperatures has hampered the easy absorption of floodwaters, making the damage caused by flooding more intense.

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