Serbia Declares State Of Emergency In 52 Cities, Districts Due To Rains

 A state of emergency has been declared in 52 towns and districts in different parts of Serbia due to overflowing rivers and rain torrents, prompting rescue operations involving hundreds of fire trucks and dozens of boats, the country's interior ministry said on Saturday.

"The state of emergency is currently in effect in 52 cities and districts," the ministry said in a statement, urging citizens to stay away from water streams, use sandbags to protect homes and climb to the upper floors in case of danger.

In addition to rescuing people, employees of the Emergency Management Sector are busy pumping water out of flooded facilities. Since May 26, when heavy rainfall began in Serbia, 1,300 interior ministry employees, including a water rescue squad, have made more than 600 trips with hundreds of fire trucks and pumps and dozens of boats, the ministry noted.

"On Saturday night, employees were monitoring critical currents throughout Serbia, were busy pumping water in the Savaca area of Bor, in the municipality of Sarlinac, in the gerontological center in the municipality of Doljevac, in the new industrial zone in Jagodina, while evacuating animals in the village of Grocka," the ministry said, adding that one man who fell into a river was rescued.