August 9, 2023 – An update on floods in Croatia: after they caused damage in northern Croatia, Osijek-Baranja County is preparing for Friday, August 11. A record wave and water level on the Drava was announced at the meeting of the County Civil Protection Directorate on Tuesday.
The system is ready, but we hope that the wave, which threatens to reach a record height, will not cause significant damage to the county, said the head of the Civil Protection Directorate of the county and deputy prefect Mato Lukić, writes 24Sata.
He called on fellow citizens to behave responsibly when swimming, boating, and walking in endangered areas. “We appeal to them not to do so and to protect themselves first and foremost,” he said.
He reported that the members of the Directorate have already visited all potentially critical points, especially the weekend settlement of Karašica, where the construction of a 750-meter-long barrier is in progress.
On Sunday, August 6, the Civil Protection Directorate decided on a high level of flood defence preparedness for all towns and municipalities in the Drava basin, and today a decision was made to put operational civil protection forces in all municipalities and cities in the county on alert.
Water levels of the Mura and Drava at all water meters are higher than those of 2014
Director of the Water Management Department for the Danube and the Drava of Croatian Waters, Željko Kovačević, reported that the water levels of the Mura and Drava at all water measuring stations are higher than in 2014 when the situation in Osijek-Baranja County was extraordinary.
Currently, our main activities are happening in the weekend settlement of Karašica, where we built barriers longer than one kilometer and installed box barriers, he said, adding that in 2014, Croatian flood waters carried out a series of works on the flood defense system.
We built barriers in Sveti Đurađ and near Viljevo, a flood defence system in Karašica, Osijek we have a city-type coastal fortification towards Donji grad, and there is also protection on the left bank of the Drava. We are constantly upgrading the system, but the Drava can always surprise, said Kovačević.
Head of the Osijek Civil Protection Directorate and deputy mayor Dragan Vulin said the situation is serious, but there is no room for panic.
In Osijek, we expect a very high water level of the Drava for the; the forecast is that it will overflow onto the promenade on the left bank, said Vulin and urged citizens not to go to that area.
At the session of the Civil Protection Directorate, in addition to the representatives of the Directorate, the police, firefighters, Croatian Waters, there were also representatives of the cities and municipalities on the Drava basin – Osijek, Donji Miholjec, Belišće, Valpovo, Podravska Moslavina, Viljevo, Petrijevac, Bilje, Petlovac and Jagodnjak.
