The Montenegrin Defence Ministry has asked NATO and the European Union to help it fight off heavy floods that have hit almost all parts of the country, the Montenegrin national broadcaster said on Saturday.
"We are a young system and we don't have everything that is needed in disasters like this one. We urgently need boats, terrain vehicles and ambulances, pontoons, water pumps, power generators, rain suits, rubber boots, tents and waterproof sheets," Army Chief-of-Staff Dragan Samardzic said.
At a meeting with military attaches in Podgorica on Friday, Defence Minister Boro Vucinic asked EU and NATO countries for help.
The defence ministry said that around 250 army staff were on the ground helping civilians. Forty vehicles, five military boats and two helicopters have been deployed to help evacuate people and livestock, provide medical help and evacuate moveable property.
The army has prepared barracks for the reception of around 600 evacuees in Niksic, Danilovgrad, Golubovci, Pljevlja and Kolasin.
More than 2,000 people have been evacuated so far from the areas that have been hit the most by the floods. The situation is the most critical in Ulcinj and in Zeta, on the coast of Lake Skadar.
Most main roads have been closed to traffic and despite forecasts about a decrease in precipitation, there have been no reports that the hydrological situation could soon improve.
