Thousands of people in western Romanian and northeastern Serbian flatlands were hit by floods after swollen rivers burst their banks, destroying homes and forcing evacuation, local media reported Friday. In Romania, rescuers evacuated hundreds of families from villages around Timisoara, a region bordering Serbia, that have been hit by floods from rivers Timis and Mures. To the south along the border, around Turnu-Severin, the worst flood in a century destroyed 2,000 homes in 44 villages, affecting 7,000 people. The damage was said to exceed "millions of euros". Conditions were further aggravated by an unseasonable cold, even snow, with forecasters saying that bad weather was expected to continue over the coming days. Just across the border to the west, in Serbian, more than 2,000 people were evacuated from the flood. Village Jasa Tomic was reachable only in military vehicles after Timis (Tamis) flooded streets and approaching roads. Some people had to be plucked from their homes by military rescuers in boats. The Serbian army has also prepared shelter for hundreds of people in its barracks in the nearby Zrenjanin. At least 120 homes were destroyed in the area, the local crisis management centers said. Both Romanian and Serbian local authorities appealed for tents, blankets, food and beverages.
