WATCH: Aerial footage showing flood and landslide destruction
Flash floods and landslides have struck central Bosnia and Herzegovina, killing at least 16 people, cutting off towns and villages and leaving some homes nearly submerged.
Some of the worst effects were in the area around Jablanica, a town on the main road connecting the city of Mostar and the capital Sarajevo, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) northeast.
Many other people have been reported missing, and a state of emergency has been declared.
Development Minister Vojin Mijatovic said the country had witnessed a terrible disaster and called for peace.
Reuters
The area most affected by flash floods and landslides was around Jablanica
Officials in Herzegovina-Neretva region said 13 people had been confirmed dead in the region, not 16 as originally reported.
Three other deaths were confirmed in the town of Fojinica.
Ten people remain missing in Herzegovina-Neretva region, and search and rescue operations continue.
Rivers burst their banks after overnight storms and aerial photos showed many towns and villages left under water.
Roads, bridges and railroad tracks were washed away or blocked by debris, and landslides left homes buried to the top in rocks and dirt.
Some of the worst flood scenes in Jablanica and nearby villages
The main M-17 route along the Neretva River was covered in rubble near Jablanica, and a 17-kilometre stretch of railway between nearby Ostrozac and Grabovica to the west was severely damaged. A landslide near a river south of Jablanica left a 200-meter-long railway line suspended in the air.
Local authorities in Herzegovina-Neretva region warned motorists to avoid dangerous roads around Jablanica.
Further east along the Neretva River, a homeowner told Bosnian media that water flooded into his house at 3:30 a.m. on Friday, and that he barely managed to rescue his son, who fled to his neighborhood and watched as his house collapsed. He said he saw it.
Meanwhile, heavy water flooded roads and submerged cars in the Kiseljak area, 20 kilometers west of the capital.
Reuters
The floods were not limited to Bosnia. In neighboring Montenegro, roads were washed away and the village of Komarnica was cut off.
Water levels are also rising in some of Croatia’s rivers, and the Zagreb government has announced that parts of the city of Karlovac near the Kupa River are at risk of flooding.
Floods hit much of central Europe last month, with Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania being the worst hit.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group announced that the region had the wettest four-day period on record. They said climate change has made flooding worse.
Europe is the fastest warming continent. According to the Copernicus Climate Bureau, the past five years have averaged about 2.3 degrees Celsius warmer than in the late 19th century.
