The floods that hit the Municipality of Velika Kladuša, where a state of natural disaster has been declared, have caused significant damage, especially to useful agricultural facilities. The extent of the damage is yet to be determined, and landslides and landslides may cause additional problems. A clearer picture of the overall impact of the floods will be known after the weather conditions have completely stabilized.
In recent days, Velika Kladuša has been in a difficult situation due to floods and a state of natural disaster has been declared.
The picture is much better today. The water is slowly receding, but it is leaving behind major damage, mostly to useful agricultural areas.
“Also, there has been agricultural damage to the agricultural crops of our citizens, we will have to do something,” says the Mayor of the Municipality of Velika Kladuša, Boris Horvat.
The Kekić couple have already felt the agricultural damage, explaining that the floods were extensive, and it is precisely they, the farmers, who have suffered the greatest impact on their livelihoods.
“It was a big flood. All over those meadows. There’s damage, it’s so wet that you can’t sow it, you can’t manage it properly,” explains farmer Hasan Kekić.
“The water was almost up to the garden, but since the ground is flat, almost half of the garden, the water stands there. You can’t walk, it’s muddy, if it rains for a long time, it will rot,” says farmer Mevlida Kekić.
While the agricultural damage is being assessed, there may be bigger ones in the coming days, and these are landslides that can be activated. The populated Gornja Slapnica is currently a problem, but it’s not the only one, as authorities say, landslides have already partially activated in some settlements, which is why the relevant services are on the ground and on alert.
“Among other things, we have six landslides that have started in the Municipality of Velika Kladuša, where the worst situation is in Slapnica, Zborište, Kudići… so we will have to act as soon as possible to help people recover,” says the Mayor of the Municipality of Velika Kladuša, Boris Horvat.
The Municipality of Velika Kladuša will receive requests from citizens in the next seven days related to damage from natural disasters, including agricultural areas. After assessing the damage, the authorities will contact higher levels and try to mitigate the damage through special compensation and financial sources, including retroactive measures for damage from 2023.
“And after that, we will appear before the damage assessment commission and we will see what the approximate extent of the damage is in the area of the Municipality of Velika Kladuša and in contact with higher levels of government we will try to mitigate the total damage with special compensation and other sources of financing, as we will do for damage from 2023 in a retroactive sense,” emphasizes Muhamed Galijašević from the Civil Protection of the Municipality of Velika Kladuša.
Although the floods caused extensive damage, authorities and services on the ground are working to repair the situation. Damage assessments in the coming days will provide a clearer picture of the extent of the disaster. Velika Kladuša is now awaiting aid and compensation to rebuild its agricultural areas and infrastructure.
Photo: archive
