Karlovac still struggling as water levels begin to stagnate on the Kupa

The rain has stopped but Karlovac County was still struggling on Sunday with high water levels, particularly on the Kupa River. 

Several roads were flooded over cutting off a number of villages. Water has spilled into homes, businesses, and other buildings. Three homes in the village of Brodarci and eight homes in the Ozalj area have been affected.

In Ogulin, locals and water management crews managed to hold off the water that was threatening eight homes.

The Kupa River in Karlovac is still high, around 8 meters, but it appears it is stagnating.

"We've been up all night. They brought us some sandbags, but water always finds a way," Pokupje resident Ana Tuškan told HRT.

In the same village, Zdravko Rendulić’s home was spared but other buildings did not fare as well.

"The water didn't flood our home but it did seep into our barn and garages. Our cars are trapped inside," Rendulić said.

Local crews were on boat patrol all night helping people put up sandbags.

The head of the Civil Protection Directorate, the Karlovac County Prefect, and the head of the national water management agency Hrvatske vode toured on Sunday areas most under threat of flooding.

"The good news is that the water here in Brodarci is stagnating. The river isn't expected to rise further. The current level is 801cm in Karlovac. With waters levelling off in Brodarci, we don't expect much change in Karlovac, perhaps only a centimeter or two more. Levels upstream on the Korana River are also falling, so we don't expect any major increase,” said Zoran Đuroković, the general manager of Hrvatske vode.

Damir Trut, the head of the Civil Protection Directorate, said their teams were on the ground the entire time, helping protect buildings and providing assistance to residents.

"We've also deployed tools and machinery, like submersion water pumps and power generators. They have been sent to Kamanje District. Whatever is needed, we are here,” Trut said.

The peak of the flood wave is moving downstream from Karlovac towards Sisak and Petrinja, where the Kupa is rising. Emergency measures are in place in the area because many of the local dykes were damaged in the 2020 earthquake. Water management authorities are confident the protections that are in place will hold. They have erected box barriers in the spots where the dykes are being rebuilt.

"On the right bank of the Petrinja dyke at Brest Bridge and at Krnica, we’ve put up box barriers, filled them in partially, laying the groundwork to raise them in the case of a major swell,” said Tatjana Dvoranić Kardaš of Hrvatske vode.

Željko Tonković from the Petrinja Civil Protection Service said the flood wave was losing momentum and was not as intense as had been expected.

“We are confident things will be fine and we've done all the work needed to prepare for a possible emergency," said Tonković.