MapAction Volunteers deployed in Response to Flooding in the Balkans

On 19 May 2014, volunteers from the non-profit crowdsource mapping group MapAction were deployed to Belgrade in response to the severe flooding in Serbia and the Balkans.

In what is being hailed as the worst flood in 120 years reports have indicated that four months worth of rain has fallen in a single day. The flooding caused by excess rain combined with landslides and damage to infrastructure is estimated to have affected over 50,000 people.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism and other disaster management agencies have been activated in response to the widespread flooding in the Balkans.  As UN-SPIDER reported, the EU Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service was also activated, producing maps for Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

MapAction will be partnering with the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team providing information to assess damage and assist in humanitarian aid efforts. This is the charities second emergency deployment in the region. 

UN-SPIDER has compiled a list of available satellite imagery and maps of the flooded regions in the Balkans.