Hope endures
By Darko Arsenovski, World Vision Bosnia and Herzegovina's Security Coordinator
On the night of October 4th, sudden floods hit Bosnia and Herzegovina Konjic, Jablanica, Kiseljak, Kreševo, and Fojnica towns. The pictures that appeared the next morning looked more frightening than one from 10 years ago when severe floods struck. Following the news and updates from the authorities, it was evident that that the situation was much worse, with fatal casualties, dead and missing, communities being completely cut off, with no electricity and water. Many families lost their families and homes. On the next day, WV BiH team was on the road towards vulnerable families and children in Konjic and Jablanica. Basic hygiene supplies, underwear, jackets, and water were quickly purchased and packed by Berina and Darko.
The journey through unaffected areas went smoothly, with scary, empty roads. Emergency vehicles, rescue teams and police were the only one seen. We first reached Konjic. The town's streets were empty, with just a few cars passing by. We headed to the Red Cross building, where young volunteers were busy sorting water, clothes, and other supplies. The office director told us that it would take at least three days for rescue teams to reach certain locations. We left part of the aid we brought and continued toward the hardest-hit area in Jablanica.
At first, the road was clean, washed by the rain, but as we got closer to the town, the road became muddier. We encountered the first landslides. The further we went, the worse it got. Piles of mud, remnants of landslides, and rockslides stood by the road, left after the bulldozers cleared the way, signaling what lay ahead. In Jablanica, we met the Red Cross team, a large group of hardworking volunteers was sorting the incoming aid. The office director told us that many villages were unreachable due to destroyed roads and water flowing down what was left of them. A group of volunteers who set out to clear the village of Zlate was sent back due to the high risk of more landslides as the rain was still falling. We learned that all the affected areas suffered significant human and material damage, no electricity, no potable water, phone lines barely working and it was hard to get information of about missing families.
The worst are the lost lives and families. There was a child survival, with entire family lost, found next to the ruins of a former home. The boy is now in the hospital, safe. Another child was found alive after two days, trapped under a two-ton concrete slab. A father of five lost everything and a seven-year-old girl survived with her father, while her pregnant mother did not. We also heard about a car covered in mud with Montenegrin license plates—at the time, it was unknown if anyone was inside, if it was parked there, or if the floodwaters had moved it from the road. We tried to go further into the area directly hit by a rockslide. The police allowed us to go only that far; only rescue teams and machinery have further access. The road to Donja Jablanica was mostly covered with mud and sand. There were landslides on the sides—some stopped just before reaching the road. From a vantage point above the devastated area, we could see a continuous white line of rocks covering the land, with house remnants sticking out while bulldozers tried to clear the stones. A local mosque was almost entirely submerged because the rocks blocked the water's path. We couldn’t reach the flooded villages and hamlets. They told us it wasn’t safe to go until the rescue teams cleared and secured at least part of the road so help could get through.
Lost lives, lost families. Women , men , boys and girls in need. Like always when disaster strikes, we are out there, together with the most vulnerable, assisting, truly hoping to have enough to support them in all they need to ease their suffering and loss. Hope endures.