Bosnia and Herzegovina is vulnerable to natural shocks that could derail the country’s development agenda. The devastating floods of 2014 highlighted the need for increased investment in infrastructure and policies that will help the country mitigate expected impacts from a shifting climate and shield the most vulnerable from natural disasters.
In response to the unprecedented floods in 2014, the $100 million Floods Emergency Recovery Project (FERP has been was implemented to provide assistance to the populations in affected areas and restore their lives to pre-flood conditions. The project helps rebuild critical infrastructure damaged by floods and landslides, as well as provides technical assistance and capacity building to help increase resiliency in the face of future natural disasters.
The town of Celinac was devastated by floods in May and again in August, 2014. The floods ruined homes and destroyed infrastructure, negatively affecting all 6,000 residents in the town.
Hundreds of people were cut off from critical services when the Josavka River swelled and washed this bridge out during the 2014 floods.
Thus far, nearly $900,000 has already been invested in the Celinac Municipality, including about $120,000 to rebuild this bridge.
$57 million has been committed under the FERP to help in the rehabilitation of key regional and local infrastructure, such as this rural road in the Gracanica Municipality
Work is nearing completion on this section of road, which will connect locals to key services in the surrounding area, including the local primary school.
In addition to infrastructure rehabilitation projects, the World Bank Group is also working with the governments in Bosnia and Herzegovina to increase the country’s resilience to future natural disasters. Rock walls have been built into the side of this road in Gracanica to both reinforce the surrounding area as well as allow water to drain more easily – lessening the chances of a landslide.
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