No official estimates as to the cost of this natural disaster are available as yet. However, some very rough preliminary estimates put the damage at around EUR 1.5-2 billion in Serbia, and about EUR 1.3 billion in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reads a statement by the EBRD to Tanjug on Thursday.

For example, the agriculture sector, which accounts for about 10 per cent of GDP in Serbia and 6 per cent in Bosnia, has been particularly badly affected. Most of the arable land in flooded areas has been destroyed and the damage in both countries could be in the hundreds of millions in euros, the Bank said.

Power generation and mining has been heavily disrupted, especially in Serbia, where the damage to the state-owned power company EPS is likely to be extremely costly.

Serbia's largest mining complex Kolubara, crucial for the country's energy system as it provides coal to the thermal power plants that produce more than 50 per cent of the energy Serbia needs, has been flooded.

Roads and railways (as well as water supply and energy transmission infrastructure) have been badly hit too, which will cause major problems for the free movement of goods and people and affect businesses across the region.

The floods could also have a sizeable macro-economic impact on Serbia and Bosnia, affecting short-term growth and inflation as well as their policy priorities and the budget for this year.

Current EBRD growth forecasts for 2014 are 1.8 per cent for Bosnia and 1.0 per cent for Serbia and they may well need to be revised further downwards.

The EBRD has already described responding to the crisis as one of its major priorities and aims to reallocate existing funding in the region to help finance food relief.

The EBRD will place a priority on the rehabilitation of damaged roads and water systems as well as damaged power stations and transmission and distribution networks.

It also aims to respond rapidly to the immediate needs of any of the EBRD's corporate partners in the private sector whose activities have been harmed by the flooding.

As an EU candidate country, Serbia can also apply for financing from the EU Solidarity Fund, which helps member states in case of severe natural disasters if the estimated damage exceeds 0.64 percent of their GDP, the EBRD said.