Floods Devastate Balkans

Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija says more than a quarter of Bosnia-Herzegovina's four million people have been affected by the worst flooding to hit the region in more than a century.

The foreign minister said Monday that some one million people have been cut off from clean water supplies, and more than 100,000 houses and 230 schools and health institutions have been destroyed in the flooding.

At least 37 people have died in the floods in Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia. Tens of thousands of people have been left homeless. Much of the region remains under water Monday as rescue and evacuation efforts continue.

Many people have crammed into boats and army trucks to escape the water, and much of the region has no electricity.

The floods have caused more than 2,000 landslides and are uncovering mines left over from the Balkan wars of the early 1990s.

Russian cargo planes and helicopters from the European Union are helping with the relief efforts.

Experts say the jet stream stalled a huge front over the Balkans, dumping about four months' worth of rain in just a few days.

Pope Francis is asking the world to pray for victims of the worst flooding to hit the Balkans in more than a century.

Francis told his weekly Sunday audience at the Vatican that he feels personal closeness to those living through pain and trouble.