At least 3 killed after massive storm whips Balkans

At least three people drowned in floods Thursday as a massive storm whith record rainfall and powerful winds lashed Serbia and its neigbours. According to dpa, among the victims was a homeowner who refused to be evacuated on the outskirts of Belgrade and a firefighter on a rescue operation north of the capital. Serbia declared a nationwide state of emergency because of flooding across the country. The government said that it has asked Russia, the European Commission and Slovenia for humanitarian and technical assistance to deal with the effects of the flooding. Within a period of 24 hours, some 120 litres of rain fell per square metre, beating a record from 1897, meteorologist Biljana Vranes said.