Collective living is important in region. Some villages had electricity and few had indoor plumbing. Cooking was usually done outside, on a wood-burning stove. Homes sometimes had wells for water supply but reports of Serbian forces poisoning of the wells have begun to emerge. At the moment it is too early to give an accurate number to the damage inflicted on homes in Kosovo.
Early indications are serious devestation.
In a survey of 89,998 houses in 625 villages, Schellenberg said 36 percent were damaged to some extent, and about 31 percent were considered uninhabitable. That amounts to 27,672 uninhabitable houses, all in rural areas. Since this new preliminary survey almost two weeks ago, he said he believed that another 8,000 to 10,000 houses were now uninhabitable in urban areas. He also estimates that another 2,000 to 3,000 houses have been destroyed in rural areas. The BBC News Online carries an interactive map which can be used as an initial starting point.