Bosnians are picking up the pieces as floodwaters gradually receded Sunday, leaving a trail of destruction caused by the most devastating floods the country has seen in years.

A flash flood swept through the Jablanica area, southwest of Sarajevo on Friday, killing at least 18 people, the cantonal government said, and the search for those missing continued on Sunday.

In Trusina, no people were reported to have died, but houses, orchards and gardens were devastated.

"It is difficult to believe that an orchard, garage, car and another smaller house was here," Duda Sutlic said "Everything disappeared in 10 minutes."

"I was happy here. I had a life and I worked hard. Today I have no strength. All we have left now are our pensions – 500 marka ($282.21)."

A meteorologist Nedim Sladic told N1 TV that in under six hours, the region around Jablanica received as much rain as usually falls in three or four months.

Ecologists say the floods in Bosnia have been particularly damaging because years of neglect of river beds, deforestation and uncontrolled construction and exploitation of wood and stone have aggravated the impact of climate change.

Other parts of Europe have also been hard hit by flooding as well as extreme heat and wildfires.

"Everything that my father created and that I have created after him disappeared in 30 minutes," Admir Poturovic, another resident of Trusina said.

"But life goes on. One has to move on" he said.

European rescue teams arrive

Meanwhile, rescue teams from Bosnia's neighbors and European Union countries on Sunday were joining efforts to clear the rubble and find missing people.

"Our hearts and thoughts are with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, hit by devastating floods," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X.

"We have activated our EU Civil Protection Mechanism and are sending rescue teams on the ground. This is EU solidarity in action."

Earlier on Sunday, Luigi Soreca, who heads the EU mission in Bosnia, said on X that teams wer arriving to help. Bosnia is a candidate country for membership in the 27-nation bloc.

Authorities said Croatian rescuers have already arrived while a team from Serbia is expected to be deployed in the afternoon, followed by a Slovenian team with dogs. Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Czechia and Türkiye have also offered help, a government statement said.

Sunday is the date of a local election in Bosnia. Election authorities have postponed voting in the flood-hit regions, but the flooding has overshadowed the vote across the country.

Ismeta Bucalovic, a resident of Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital, said "we are all overwhelmed by these flooding events. We all think only about that."