Deputy Prime Minister Rasim Ljajić stated in Krupanj today that this underdeveloped municipality in western Serbia needs urgent and great help to fight the consequences of the catastrophic flooding.

After visiting the flooded area, Ljajić stated to the press that, considering the degree of development, and the number of inhabitants, Krupanj has perhaps suffered the highest damages and appealed to everyone to send as much help as they can to this small town.

“We need help in manpower to clear the houses, and we also need shovels, rubber boots, basic provisions, clothing, and shoes to keep the life at normal pace”, said Ljajić.

He also mentioned that eight houses were destroyed, and twenty were rendered uninhabitable, the road infrastructure suffered great damages, and all the crops were flooded.

Ljajić, who is also the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, promised that the Government will do everything to help minimize the consequences of the damages.

“The damage will be far greater than we can predict. Without coordinated activity from the local authority, and first of all the state, and the entire public, it is unlikely that we will manage to indemnify the consequences of these catastrophic floods”, said Ljajić.

There are almost no roads in the Krupanj municipality that have not sustained severe damages, and in the settlement Žarkovača alone, three bridges used for pedestrian traffic were damaged.

The small town of Krupanj, which is the administrative center of Rađevina region, was completely cut off in terms of traffic and communication for four days, up until yesterday.

According to the data of the crisis staff, due to the flooding of small local streams, 5 bridges have been destroyed, 500 houses have been flooded, and about 600 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Help from nearby towns started arriving on Saturday when the road from Loznica, across Zavlaka became passable after a four-day blockade.