Serbian President Boris Tadic arrived in Ljubovija, western Serbia, late on Thursday, to gain on-site insight into the consequences of the Drina River flooding in the area.

According to announcements by representatives of local authorities, Tadic took a tour of Ljubovija downtown and visit some of the flooded households. He will also attend the meeting of the local crisis staff.

The Serbian president arrived in Ljubovija immediately upon his return from Kazakhstan, where he attended the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) summit.

The water level in the Drina River rose by over five metres in just a few of hours since late Wednesday, causing irreparable damage to a number of households in the local district of Azbukovica.

Floods around Loznica, roads to Montenegro closed

Water levels in the Lim River at Prijepolje and the Drina River at Ljubovija and Loznica are stagnant, but over 300 homes have been flooded around Loznica, and flooding from Lim has closed the Prijepolje-Bijelo Polje interstate road from Serbia to Montenegro.

There are no casualties and the evacuation of the critical areas around Loznica is ongoing.The Zvornik hydropower plant in Mali Zvornik saw a record water flow of 3,800 cubic meters per second, Tanjug's correspondent in the area reported.

Head of the Emergency Situations Sector at the Interior Ministry Predrag Maric said that the problem in Prijepolje is caused by groundwater and that Lim flooded the road from Ljubovija to Zvornik.

In a statement with Tanjug, Maric confirmed that the river flooded the road at the village of Velika Reka.

Lim also flooded the Prijepolje-Bijelo Polje road near the village of Strugovi, shutting down traffic between Serbia and Montenegro.

Major rainfall in the Sava River basin raised waters levels, and if the trend continues a state of emergency could be declared around Sabac on Friday.

The water level of the Drina River in Ljubovija and the Lim River in Prijepolje, western Serbia, increased during the night and the inhabitants of these two towns are being evacuated, Head of the Serbian Interior Ministry's Emergency Management Sector Predrag Maric stated for Tanjug on Thursday morning.

The Drina River flooded the streets of Visegrad, while the Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge remained stable despite water burst.

The Visegrad Hydroelectric Power Plant registered about four thousand cubic meters of water per second during the night, which was the largest flow since 1989 when the dam was erected.

Several dozens of villages in the municipality of Visegrad were flooded as well as the settlements along the Drina River toward Foca, western Serbia.

The members of civil protection service, police, border police and others evacuated citizens from flooded municipalities in the Drina River basin on Wednesday evening.

Crossings of Mali Zvornik (new bridge) and Ljubovija, on the administrative border with Republika Srpska, have been closed due to the flooding of the Drina River, the Serbian Customs Administration released on Thursday.

According to the release, all people using the two border crossings should switch to the Sremska Raca crossing until the water level of the Drina stabilises.

As the Drina water level is constantly rising, the crossings will be downtime until further notice, the release reads.

Dragin promises aid to residents of flooded areas

Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Sasa Dragin said Thursday that his ministry will provide aid to residents of flooded areas in and around Ljubovija.

The aid will consist of basic food items and seed materials to help farmers re-plant their flooded farmland, he said.

Veterinary services will step up their activities, including disinfection and rodent control in order to prevent disease outbreaks, he said.

A state of emergency has been declared in the Ljubovija municipality where between 900 and 1,200 acres and 300 homes have been flooded.