Record flooding in Balkans

After days of heavy rains, swaths of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are underwater. Parts of the countries saw as much rain fall in 40 hours as they normally get in three months, officials said. Authorities said over 20 people have died as a result of the flooding.

The area along the Sava River, west of Belgrade, was among the places worst hit by the flooding. In Sabac, water levels rose by 6.2 meters.

In Obrenovac, emergency workers and soldiers used helicopters to rescue people who were trapped in the Serbian town. Nearly 90 percent of the town of 23,000 was flooded.

Water has flooded into the second floor of some homes in the region and thousands are still waiting to be rescued and brought to emergency shelters. Damages in Serbia alone are estimated to cost a billion euros.

In Obrenovac alone there were some 4,000 people who needed to be rescued from what officials are calling the worst flood disaster to strike the region since they began keeping records. Hundreds of people have also been evacuated in Croatia.

Transport was brought to a halt in Serbia's capital as a state of emergency was declared because of what Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic described as "the worst natural catastrophe that has ever hit Serbia."

Villages and towns were left isolated or even underwater as rivers burst their banks in the two countries. The military organised evacuations as 100,000 households, home to an estimated 300,000, were left without power.

A landslide and floodwaters hit houses in the village of Topcic Polje, near the central Bosnian town of Zenica. Hundreds of homes were cut off or flooded after the Miljacka River, which runs through Sarajevo, broke its banks.Rain has caused some 300 landslides, and officials fear landslides could also set off land mines left from Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.

Helicopters, boats and amphibious vehicles were used to help people to safety. Five people are known to have drowned in the floods, including one firefighter on a rescue mission.

Road and rail links have been broken and many vehicles remain underwater. Rail traffic from Serbia to Montenegro has been halted.

Schools have been closed and sporting events cancelled as Serbia and Bosnia deal with the record flooding.