Serbia under threat of flooding as rivers freezeFebruary 8, 2012 - 15:31 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Serbian waterway authorities have ordered emergency measures to break the ice forming on several rivers and avert the threat of flooding, for the first time in nearly three decades, officials said Wednesday, February 8. If too much ice forms on a river, it may create a plug when cracking and moving, hampering the flow of water and causing upstream floods. Serbia owns no icebreakers and had to hire two from Hungary to operate on the Danube, Sava and Kolubara rivers. “This phenomenon is very rare. The last time we needed icebreakers was in the winter of 1984-85,” Aleksandar Prodanovic of the Serbian waters directorate told B92 radio. The critical points were on rivers Danube, Tisa (Tizsa), Velika Morava and Ibar rivers, Prodanovic said. The situation on Ibar, at the city of Kraljevo in central Serbia, is particularly dangerous. Nenad Maric, of the interior ministry department for emergency situations, said the army may be called to blast the ice on the Ibar with explosives. Temperatures in Serbia ranged early Wednesday from -21 to -9 degrees Celsius, amid an unusually cold spell, M&C reported quoting DPA. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |