MINES AND FLOODING

The floods in the former Yugoslavia are the worst ever recorded, the Sava river being particularly hard hit. Apart from the damage to buildings, people and livestock caused by the water, it has shifted many of the thousands of landmines remaining from the former civil war. Getting rid of mines whose position is known precisely is one thing; getting rid of mines that have floated off somewhere else is quite another matter.

For the people affected, this is not the first time that disaster has struck. It will not be easy to recover.

Walter Blotscher