That early morning, Josip and his wife Ana could only watch helplessly as the Željeznica River, swollen by the heavy rainfall, burst into their backyard and their home in Fojnica, small city in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The water came at around four in the morning,” says 72-year-old Josip. “The entire first floor of the house was flooded. All that was left behind was mud and garbage. In front of the house, we had a shed, a drying room, a garage, a pigsty, a chicken coop, we had everything, and the water took it all away.”
The water that flooded Josip and Ana’s house is a consequence of the unprecedented floods that hit southern and central parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 3 and 4, 2024. The direct damage from this disaster to the housing and public infrastructure is estimated at 144 million euros, while more than 1,130 households were affected.
Through the EU support to floods recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina project, worth 20 million euros, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Kalem family, as well as dozens of other families, will have their damaged houses repaired or new built.
The project is designed to respond to the needs of the population in communities directly affected by the natural disaster in October 2024, with a special focus on socially and economically vulnerable populations, multi-member households, the unemployed, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups.
In addition to Fojnica, the project is also being implemented in Drvar, Jablanica, Kiseljak, Konjic, Kreševo, Mostar and Vareš, all with the aim of enabling effective and sustainable recovery from floods and landslides. The project beneficiaries were selected through a public call, which included field visits to all households that met the general criteria, in order to ensure transparency, a proper assessment of needs, and to direct assistance to those who need it the most.
Through this project, rehabilitation works have already begun in Josip and Ana’s house. In addition to repairing the electrical installations, masonry, carpentry and insulation works will also be carried out, laminate flooring, sanitary ware and ceramic tiles will be installed, while the water and sewage installations will be repaired.
The house of the Bogdanić family is also located in Fojnica.
Rabija Bogdanić shows videos on her phone of the rising water that flooded her neighborhood in the early morning of October 4. “In the 40 years I’ve been here, the water has never come out of its riverbed,” she says. “My husband was putting things away outside; we were lifting everything that could be lifted inside. The water rushed so fast that he could no longer get back the house through doors, so he took the ladder and entered through the window.”
Through this EU project, all walls and floors damaged in the floods will be repaired at the Bogdanić family’s house, new ceramics and laminate flooring will be installed, the bathroom will be renovated with accompanying installations, and new interior and exterior joinery will be installed.
“It feels great to see the start of the renovations,” says Rabija.
About the project
EU support to floods recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina project, worth 20 million euros, is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In addition to the rehabilitation and construction of housing units, the project envisages the reconstruction of public institutions and local infrastructure, as well as support for agricultural producers and small and medium-sized enterprises in the restoration of their businesses.
