IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 609 

Expressing condolences and support for assistance to the victims of the 

historic flooding in the Western Balkans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 30, 2014 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself and Mr. ADERHOLT) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing condolences and support for assistance to the 

victims of the historic flooding in the Western Balkans. 

Whereas record rainfall beginning on May 13, 2014, has 

caused widespread flooding in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 

the Republic of Croatia, and the Republic of Serbia, 

causing thousands of landslides, massive destruction, and 

loss of life; 

Whereas as of May 22, 2014, the flooding had caused over 

40 deaths and impacted over 500,000 people across the 

region, particularly in western Serbia and eastern Bosnia 

and Herzegovina; 

Whereas the equivalent of 3 months of rain fell during the 

course of 3 days, making this the worst flooding event 

seen in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 120 years; 


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•HRES 609 IH 

Whereas the flooding has left thousands stranded in their 

homes waiting for assistance, displaced, or homeless; 

Whereas according to the Red Cross, 300,000 people in Serbia and 50,000 people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are 

without clean water or electricity; 

Whereas the Bosnian Foreign Ministry has reported that the 

flooding has rendered 100,000 buildings unusable, 

500,000 people have evacuated or fled their homes, and 

14 municipalities are in a state of emergency; 

Whereas the Government of Serbia has described the situation in the country as ‘‘catastrophic’’, and estimates that 

at least 25,000 people have evacuated, particularly in the 

town and municipality of Obrenovac, and that the flooding has caused over 100,000,000 Euros ($140 million) in 

damage to the Kolubara coal mine that supplies the 

Kostolac power plant; 

Whereas soldiers and energy workers scrambled to erect 

sandbag barriers to protect the Kostolac power plant and 

the Nikola Tesla power plant, which provides half of the 

nation’s electricity, from the waters of the over-flooded 

Sava River; 

Whereas an estimated 100,000 landmines remaining from the 

Balkan conflicts of the 1990s have been lost or dislodged 

due to landslides, causing great concern for public safety; 

Whereas the United States Government has provided 

$100,000 in assistance through the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) as a grant to the Serbian Red Cross, which has been used to procure 3 boats 

and trailers to deliver to the Ministry of Interior, and 

$50,000 from the Under Secretary of State for Public 


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Diplomacy and Public Affairs to fund flood cleanup 

projects with non-governmental organizations (NGOs); 

Whereas in addition, United States Embassy funds have been 

used to purchase sandbags and other material assistance 

to respond to flooding, and Embassy volunteers filled 

hundreds of sandbags in a Belgrade suburb still threatened by Sava River flooding on May 18, 2014, and donated 1,000 more sandbags on May 19, 2014; 

Whereas the United States Government has further provided 

$50,000 in OFDA assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina, 

as well as donated 26 boats through the U.S. Agency for 

International Development (USAID) and 5 trucks of food 

and supplies worth over $650,000 for Banja Luka, and 

the Department of Defense is also providing supplies to 

people affected by the flooding; and 

Whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, 

and the Republic of Serbia share an increasing commitment to core democratic values, reconciliation, and European integration: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) expresses deep sympathy to all those af3 fected by the flooding in the Western Balkans for 

4 the terrible loss of life and massive destruction; 

5 (2) expresses solidarity with the people of Bos6 nia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and 

7 the Republic of Serbia, as well as a continued desire 

8 to provide essential assistance to help their countries 

9 recover from the natural disaster; 


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1 (3) expresses ongoing support for humanitarian 

2 and reconstruction assistance provided by relief 

3 agencies and the international community as imme4 diate and long-term needs are identified; 

5 (4) commends local authorities, first responders 

6 and rescue personnel, NGOs, volunteers, and every7 day citizens for their efforts to organize and deliver 

8 disaster relief to communities in need across Bosnia 

9 and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and the 

10 Republic of Serbia; and 

11 (5) urges additional assistance by other nations 

12 and organizations as needed to alleviate the difficult 

13 circumstances and suffering of the people of Bosnia 

14 and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and the 

15 Republic of Serbia, and assist them in their recovery 

16 efforts. 

Æ 


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