Obrenovac flood: late warning and evacuation

Category: Victims of negligence

Period: from 13 May 2014

Outcome: No one investigated (as of 17 May 2025)

On 16 May 2014, the Kolubara broke through a levee and within hours flooded most of Obrenovac. The sirens sounded only when the water was already pouring into the town, while Belgrade mayor Siniša Mali was urging residents not to leave their homes. In Obrenovac 17 people died and about 25,000 were evacuated. A year after the flood, no institution had analysed what caused it, and 11 years on none of those responsible has been charged; at the same time, police were detaining people over posts about the death toll.

A broken levee and late sirens

On the morning of 16 May 2014, the Kolubara broke through a levee and within hours flooded most of Obrenovac. The sirens sounded only at around 5 a.m., when the water was already pouring into the town, and that same morning Belgrade mayor Siniša Mali urged Obrenovac residents not to leave their homes; the statement was later removed from the city's website.

According to Interior Ministry figures, 17 people died in Obrenovac and about 25,000 were evacuated.

Warnings and the missing evacuation

The Republic Hydrometeorological Service had been warning of rising water levels since 13 May, and villages upstream of the town flooded a day earlier. According to an investigation by CINS, those villages were either not evacuated at all or evacuated ineffectively.

A government report adopted by the National Assembly in July 2014 cites a failure by the municipal emergency headquarters, which did not start a partial evacuation in time. A year after the flood, no competent institution had analysed what caused the flooding of Obrenovac.

No one held accountable

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić put most of the blame on the local authorities. At the end of May 2014 the prosecution requested that information be gathered, and police questioned the head of Obrenovac municipality, Miroslav Čučković, who said he stood by every one of his decisions.

No indictment has been brought against any of those responsible: according to N1 and Danas, even after 11 years no one has officially been held accountable.

Detentions over posts about the dead

At the same time, police were detaining people over social media posts about the death toll. In Belgrade alone, 15 people were questioned or detained, criminal complaints for causing panic were filed against nine of them, and three young men spent about ten days in custody.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Ombudsman criticised the detentions; Vučić denied there had been any censorship.

Participants

Aleksandar Vučić: Put most of the blame on the local authorities, promised those responsible would be found and denied there had been any censorship (commented on the case)
Siniša Mali: As mayor, on 16 May he urged Obrenovac residents to stay in their homes, even though, according to Marić, they had been warned to evacuate as early as 14 May (responsible)
Miroslav Čučković: He advised the mayor to tell residents to stay in their homes and, according to a director at the power plant, refused to switch on the sirens for fear of panic (responsible)
Nebojša Stefanović: On 19 May he ordered the full evacuation of Obrenovac after a new flood wave was forecast from the direction of Zabrežje (commented on the case)
Predrag Marić: He claimed Obrenovac residents had been warned to evacuate as early as 14 May (commented on the case)
Tomislav Nikolić: He called the floods a warning to residents who had not evacuated, not to the state (commented on the case)
Dunja Mijatović: She called arrests over blogs unacceptable and urged that online media not be obstructed (oversight and the public)
Saša Janković: He wrote that no one had recorded any panic and that the Constitution prohibits all censorship (oversight and the public)
Obrenovac City Municipality: According to the Government's report, its headquarters failed to begin a partial evacuation in time, even though the Kolubara was already flooding Veliko Polje on 15 May (responsible)
City of Belgrade / City Administration: In a statement of 16 May it urged Obrenovac residents to stay in their homes, then removed it from its website after the town was flooded (responsible)
Government of the Republic of Serbia: It declared a state of emergency only on the afternoon of 15 May, even though Koceljeva and Ub were already under water on 14 May (responsible)
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia: In Belgrade alone, police detained or questioned 15 people over social media posts on suspicion of spreading panic (responsible)
Belgrade City Police Department: It detained or questioned 15 people over social media posts during the floods on suspicion of spreading panic (responsible)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Special Department for High-Tech Crime: On its orders, criminal complaints were filed against nine people for causing panic over posts about the death toll (responsible)
Higher Court in Belgrade: It released three young men after about ten days in custody over posts about the dead (investigation and courts)
National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia: It adopted the Government report that points to a failure by the municipal emergency staff in the evacuation (oversight and the public)
Protector of Citizens (Ombudsman): He stated that no one had recorded any panic and that the Constitution prohibits all censorship (oversight and the public)
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media: He called arrests over blogs unacceptable and urged the authorities not to obstruct online media (oversight and the public)