Heavy rainfall flooded areas of Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro on October 4, killing at least 18 Bosnians and leaving dozens still missing.

In Bosnia, the situation became critical, with heavy rain starting on October 3 and continuing over the weekend. The rain caused widespread floods, landslides and closed roads, while bridges and the railway network were also damaged.

The most severely hit were the villages of Jablanica and Konjic in the Muslim-Croat Federation. Most victims found so far were in Jablanica.

On October 4, the Bosnian Federation’s Civil Protection Administration (FUCZ) reported that the bad weather has caused numerous landslides threatening people’s lives. Rivers burst their banks, damaging residential and other buildings.

Although initially FUCZ reported the situation was calming down, later on October 4 the Federation’s government declared a state of natural disaster as the rain continued, damaging more roads, bridges and buildings.

“In the area of Jablanica and Konjic, infrastructure, road communications, telephone connections were cut off. A large number of houses were completely destroyed. Unfortunately, there are also human victims. For now, a large number of people are listed as missing,” FUCZ reported.

It added that the situation was most challenging in Jablanica, where the road is not accessible from Mostar.

“Houses were flooded or buried by a landslide,” FUCZ reported.

The Bosnian army joined to help the civil protection agency deal with the disaster. Meanwhile, the Institute of Public Health warned that drinking water could be contaminated and can only be used after boiling.

The Federation’s Prime Minister Nermin Niksic said at press conference on October 5 that the entity has requested international aid. Neighbouring Croatia already sent help on October 4.

“We had a report from the director of the FBiH Railways, which are perhaps the most materially affected in terms of endangering business, because the FBiH Zeljeznice mainly carry out transport through the port of Ploce. And this is something that can cause enormous damage to the domestic economy, and it makes a daily loss of BAM280,000 [€143,162] to the FBiH Zeljeznice," Niksic said.

At the same time, the road management company, JP Putevi, that it has restored the road connection from Mostar, making it possible to send aid to Jablanica. However, the road is open only for emergency services.

On October 5, Bosnia’s central election committee (CIK) decided to postpone the October 6 local elections in the areas where it was not possible to open polling stations. The vote was delayed in Jablanica, Konjic, Kiseljak and Kresevo ​​and at three polling stations in Fojnica – Gojevici, Dusina and Bakovici.

The CIK said that it will decide on a new date within the next month after conditions for voting are met.

“We shall decide on everything based on communication with civil protection and municipal election commissions,” CIK’s chairman Irena Hadziabdic told reporters as quoted by N1.

In Montenegro, heavy rainfall also flooded the northern part of the country but so far the authorities have not reported any casualties.

Despite that, roads, residential and public buildings were flooded and the Skakavica waterfall destroyed two bridges, while 30 houses in the upper part of the village of Komarinica were cut off, public broadcaster RTCG reported.

Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spajic wrote on X that the government will provide financial aid to everyone who was affected. While there were no destroyed residential buildings, in Montenegro the rain damaged crops and farms.

The floods in Bosnia and Montenegro come shortly after major floods affected large parts of Central Europe, including Poland, Czechia and Austria, as well as Romania, in September. Scientists have warned that climate change makes weather patterns less predictable and more extreme weather events such as flooding can be expected.