From Ruin to Resilience: Rebuilding Lives After the Flood in Bosnia and Herzegovina

As Amina stands in front of the ruins that her family once called home in the town of Donja Jablanica, she reflects on the night that changed everything. Donja Jablanica, a small village on Jablanica Lake in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, was severely struck in the early hours of October 4th. That night, relentless rain poured down in torrents, flooding villages, triggering landslides, and sweeping away everything in its path. “Everything outside still looked unchanged— just a stormy October night. But Don, our dog, was far from calm; so, I decided to bring him inside, into the house. On the contrary he was jumping all over the house and barking. He realized that he was trying to warn us all, because, a few minutes later, debris began hitting the windows.”

Amina's family were fortunate enough to escape, but nine of their relatives who lived in the house next door in Donja Jablanica were not so lucky. Amina’s story is just one of the many stories from that tragic night of widespread destruction in towns such as Jablanica, Konjic, Kiseljak, Kreševo, Fojnica, Drvar, and Vareš in Central and Southern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over 1,100 households were severely impacted, and another 3,600 people were personally impacted by the disaster. By mid-October, the confirmed death toll from the disaster had reached 27, with more than 800 homes damaged by the calamitous floods.

In the village of Buturović Polje, one of the hardest hot areas, the floods swept away entire houses in a matter of minutes. Bećir, a resident of the village, could only watch from afar, through his neighbor’s window as the torrent of water carried away his house. “Here, where my son and I are now standing, is where our house stood until a few days ago,” he says. “In just ten minutes, everything was wiped off the map.”

Bećir’s wife and two sons only had minutes to escape. “From our neighbor’s house, where we had taken refuge, my wife tried to look out of the window, but all she could say was, ‘We don’t have a house,’ before fainting,” he remembers. “My younger son, Inas, just kept saying, ‘My bicycle is gone, papa [1].’ We were all in shock.”

The floods not only destroyed homes but also shattered communities leaving hundreds without even the essentials needs such as access to water, food, and shelter. Marin, a parish priest in the town of Kostajnica says that his parish is struggling to provide even the most basic of needs to traumatised communities. “The recent flooding and landslides have devastated our community's water supply,” he explains.

As winter approaches, the urgency of the situation is growing. Nearly 52 percent of affected households are in immediate need of shelter repair kits, while hundreds of homes need to be built from scratch. Beyond the physical destruction, the emotional toll has been enormous. Families like Amina’s and Bećir’s are not just facing the loss of their homes, and the memories created within their walls, but the trauma of losing loved ones and the constant fear that more disasters could arrive on their doorstep as winter approaches. “Everyone is scared, I get chills, even when I hear the sound of water in the tap,” Bećir admits.

“In the face of such widespread devastation, communities have shown incredible resilience, reflecting the capabilities of Donja Jablanica and surrounding villages to not only withstand this disaster, but take active steps to respond to the emergency enabling future recovery”, emphasized Michael O’Mahony, IOM Deputy Chief of Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Despite the loss of homes, belongings, and the tragic loss of lives, many affected families and volunteers have come together to help each other rebuild from the ruins. Like many other volunteers from the local community, after a long day of work, Nina makes her way to a warehouse in Jablanica to join other volunteers in sorting and delivering much needed aid.

“When you witness individuals traversing treacherous terrain, climbing hills and crossing valleys for kilometers on end, to aid us, it really puts things into perspective. In light of this, it's important for us to also get involved and do our part. This is all we need.”

Across Bosnia and Herzegovina, local authorities, emergency responders, and humanitarian organizations have been working around the clock to provide immediate aid to those in need. Among them, IOM Bosnia and Herzegovina have been at the forefront of coordinating the aid efforts, assessing the damage, and supporting the distribution of much needed emergency supplies. IOM Bosnia and Herzegovina has also deployed teams to support in the provision of shelter and assist the local authorities with their efforts to organize and distribute relief to impacted communities.

“Throughout this crisis IOM has worked in closed coordination with the Society of the Red Cross, Federal Civil Protection, Municipal Leadership, Community members and other UN Agencies to ensure a coordinated response and that local leadership was in place to guide emergency response efforts”, noted Michael O’Mahony.

But the road to recovery is long and rocky, and the needs are enormous. In the flood-affected regions, more than half of the residents are still in need of food, clean water, and safe shelter. Mental health and psychosocial support is another critical need, as the emotional scars from the disaster run deep.

Father Marin echoes this sentiment. “Beyond the physical damage, there must also be a focus on providing psychological support to help our community recover from the trauma we have endured.”

The increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events provide a stark reminder of how climate change is uprooting the lives of communities across the globe. Communities across Bosnia and Herzegovina are already living with and reeling from its consequences— as the country continues to face more and more floods, landslides, and unpredictable weather patterns.

As Bosnia and Herzegovina begins the long process of recovery, the resilience of its people shines through like a beacon of light. While the physical damage is impossible to convey, the sense of community remains strong. Amina, Bećir, and others like them continue to show that even in the face of unimaginable loss, they are determined to rebuild their lives and that of their communities.