19.05.2014.
Members of the Serbian Armed Forces continue with the defence of affected areas
Members of the Serbian Armed Forces has continued today to help the people in the areas affected with floods caused by heavy rains and overflowing rivers. The Serbian Armed Forces is engaged in Sabac, Obrenovac, Ub, Sremska Mitrovica, Loznica, Jagodina, Svilajnac. Helicopters of the Serbian Armed Forces have been in the air since this morning. They are used for transporting food, water, medical aid, baby equipment and other supplies.
17:30 – Until 2 p.m., helicopters of the Serbian Armed Forces transported about 13 tons of water and 13 tons of food, medical supplies and baby equipment.
16:38 – At the most affected point in the defence of Sabac near Cevrntija, soldiers and policemen work on strengthening the embankments. More than 1,500 volunteers responded to the appeal of General Dikovic to defend Sabac at this point. General Dikovic thanked all those who came and explained to them that there is no need for the employment of more than 1,500 volunteers. All citizens who have arrived above this number have been returned to Sabac by bus.16:18 - Members of the 210th Engineer Battalion of the Second Army Brigade have set up today the second heavy mechanized bridge in villages of Gledic area. The bridge was set up in the village of Godacica, where the swollen Gledic River destroyed the existing bridge.
Brigadier General Marinko Pavlovic, Commander of the Second Army Brigade attended the setting up of the bridge and on this occasion he said that the members of the brigade, in agreement with the mayor of Kraljevo and the city Emergency Response Team, resumed what they started on Saturday, when they set up heavy mechanized bridge in the village of Ravanica. - Today we are launching here heavy bridge on the Gledic River, where we will connect around 1,000 households on the right bank of the river to connect all the populated places on that side of the river to the rest of the world, Brigadier General Pavlovic said.The heavy mechanized bridge is designed for bridging dry and water, man-made and natural obstacles. The maximum width of the bridge is up to 40 meters, and depth is 3 meters. Load capacity is up to 60 tons for crawlers and up to 11 tons per axle for wheeled vehicles.
15:10 – Helicopters of the Serbian Armed Forces transported until 2 p.m. 6.5 tons of water and more than 11 tons of food, medical supplies and baby equipment.13:53 - Commander of the Crisis Response Team in Sabac, Serbian CHOD General Ljubisa Dikovic, inspected the levees in the village of Drenovac fifteen kilometres away from Sabac in the upstream course of the Sava River.
On this occasion, General Dikovic commended the Serbian Armed Forces, MoI, local residents and volunteers who are continuously working on filling the bags and reinforcing the shore forts to avert the danger of possible breaking of the levees. Water in this village near Sabac undermined levees and is now additional reinforcements with sandbags are being set up. Reinforcements are placed below the level indicators of many kilometres long bulwark erected in this area.
The commander of the Crisis Response Team ordered immediate evacuation of the population from the villages along the river Sava in the vicinity of Sabac, because of the great danger of bursting the levees. These are the villages of Drenovac, Sevarice, Tabanovic, Pricinovic, Majur, Misar, Orasac, Miokus, Dragojevac, Mrdjenovac and Provo.
According to Brigadier General Dusko Zarkovic, Commander of the 250th Missile Brigade of the Air Force, several hundred members of the Serbian Armed Forces with other citizens are engaged in fixing the bulwarks in the vicinity of Sabac, upstream on the River Sava. According to him, the situation is under control, remediation is done in several critical areas, and he hopes that it will succeed.13:10 - Soldiers on voluntary military service from the Army Training Centre collected 72,000 dinars and bought diapers, baby food and hygiene kits. The items were delivered to the Pozarevac Red Cross for distribution to citizens who need such aid.
12:24 - Until 12 o'clock, helicopters of the Serbian Armed Forces transported about 3 tons of water and more than 7 tons of food, medical supplies and baby equipment.During the night the levees were strengthened in Sabac, bags were filled and bulwarks strengthened in the region of the village of Drmno near Kostolac and people from the territory of Obrenovac were evacuated.
One of the priority tasks now is the supply of the population with drinking water, what Serbian Armed Forces is doing in Obrenovac, Loznica, Svilajnac, Kosjeric, Uzice, Gadzin Han, Pojate, Razanj, Trstenik, Doljevac, Cuprija, Cicevac ... This task involved helicopters and wheeled tanks of the Serbian Armed Forces.
Evacuation of citizens whose lives are in danger continues. During yesterday, the members of the Serbian Armed Forces evacuated a total of 1649 people, of whom 290 were received in barracks in Jakovo and Pozarevac.At the critical section in Srem, on Kuzmin-Bosut line, members of the First Army Brigade are engaged. They are assisting in the evacuation of the affected residents of Bosut. It was this line that Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic, Major General Vojin T. Jondic, Chief of Operations Department of General Staff, and Brigadier General Stojan Batinic, Commander of the First Brigade, inspected yesterday.
The First Brigade has provided about 250 sleeping bags, 200 beds and 400 blankets to equip schools in Martinci and Mandjelos, to place a part of the evacuated residents of Sremska Raca, Bosut and Jamen. Evacuees are placed and in Bosko Palkovljevic Pinki barracks.
The evacuation of the most affected residents of Bosut is completed.
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