Serbia to emergency weather warnings

belgrade - The Serbian government on Thursday declared a state of emergency because of possible flooding. The country is struggling for days with heavy rain and the fear is that thousands of people will have to leave their homes.

The government said in a statement,, a precaution, '' which is intended to save lives and protect property. Earlier this week, were already 120 people evacuated in southwestern Serbia, there were once rivers burst their banks. Hundreds of houses were under and large areas of farmland were flooded.

In 2014, Serbia was hit by the heaviest rains in a century. Rivers burst their banks and roads, bridges and homes were washed away. More than fifty people died, the damage was estimated at 1.5 billion euros. Critics said the damage could have been reduced if the government had previously responded to the warnings of meteorologists.