A '1,000 Year' Flood Is Devastating Serbia And Stranding Thousands Of People [PHOTOS]
The worst rainfall to hit Serbia and Bosnia in 120 years has killed upwards of 37 people and threatened power plants across the Balkan region.
More than one million people - nearly one-fifth of the country's overall population - live in the affected areas. Thousands are evacuating as at least 95,000 homes are without power.
About 300 landslides have complicated rescue efforts as houses and cars are being buried, bridges are crumbling, and roads have been rendered impassable.
Soldiers, police, and villagers are scrambling to fortify the perimeter of the Kostolac power plant, which lies east of the capital of Belgrade and supplies 20% of Serbia's electricity needs, as waters from nearby rivers creep closer.
The photos are stunning and show the heroic rescue effort underway.
REUTERS/Marko DjuricaAn aerial view of the flooded city of Brcko, May 18, 2014.REUTERS/Dado Ruvic People carry their belongings as they evacuate from their flooded houses in Topcic Polje, near Zepce May 16, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic Asim Skopljak talks on a mobile phone as he walks near a car stranded in mud on a street that was hit by floods in Topcic Polje, near Zepce May 16, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic A vehicle stranded in mud is seen on a street that was hit by floods in Topcic Polje, near Zepce May 16, 2014.REUTERS/Marko DjuricaA member of the rescue team carries a women as they leave her flooded house in Topcic Polje, near Zepce May 16, 2014.
Residents of Obrenovac are now living in a temporary community in Belgrade.
The floods will devastate both the Serbian and Bosnian economies, which rely heavily on their agricultural sectors.
REUTERS/Marko Djurica