Flood testimonial: Doboj

Here is a video-testimonial of the flooding that hit Doboj (Serb Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina) last Friday, recorded by Ozren Stakić. In just six minutes, the angry river Bosna spills over into the town, drowning a busy intersection.

Here is how high the waters rose - a "before and after" photo of Doboj, found on Facebook:

The waters have receded, but the devastation remains. If you can, please help.

Vignettes from the Deluge

The rains have stopped, but the floodwaters have not receded yet. Reports are coming in like the tide - 1,5 million affected, dozens of dead. Enormous property damage includes crops and livestock, which will have an impact on food supply down the line.

Cataclysms bring out the best and the worst in people. Here are just some tidbits that have reached me over the past couple of days.

First, the good. Tens of thousands have volunteered to shore up the levees and save towns like Šabac from suffering the fate of Obrenovac (now completely underwater). Among them were Serbs from Kosovo, the very same people the current Serbian government renounced and tried to force to become "Kosovians". Reports from Bosnia suggest that Serbs and Muslims have banded together to survive the flooding, while Croats - whose strongholds in the south were unaffected - sent rescue teams to help both. Rescue teams from Croatia proper have lent aid to both Bosnia and Serbia.

Flood Aid for Serbia and Bosnia

Heavy rains over the past several days have resulted in flooding of "Biblical proportions" in much of Serbia and Bosnia.

Obrenovac, Serbia, May 2014

UPDATE: More charities added below

Thanks to a diligent reader, I have been informed that the humanitarian organization "Serbs for Serbs" (Срби за Србе) - which has worked since 2005 to provide assistance to endangered families, especially in Kosovo and among the Krajina refugees - has launched a drive to help those affected by the flooding.

I am passing on this information as a courtesy; for all questions, please contact SZS directly, via email or Facebook.

Here is how to donate: