The Serbian government has moved to protect the Termoelektrane Nikola Tesla lignite-power plant, after water burst through a nearby dam, threatening the facility which provides 40 per cent of the country’s power supply.

At least 12 fatalities have been recorded after the dam flooded as Serbia struggles to cope with record rainfall. A state of emergency has been declared as many rivers and dams in the area have overflowed.

 Belgrade city officials have opted to switch off street lights to save electricity and avoid outages, according to a statement on theirwebsite, while the rainfall led to a 25 per cent drop in generation from Serbia’s biggest hydroelectric dam at Djerdap to allow controlled overflows.

The Telegraf newspaper reported that the power plant’s defence has been prioritised ahead of the city of Belgrade with truckloads of material being transported to the plant for that purpose.

Serbian Minister Aleksandar Antic already said on Sunday evening, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that due to the rise of the Danube the area around Termoelektrane Nikola Tesla is under more serious threat from the rising water levels.

TPP Nikola Tesla is a power plant complex operated by Elektroprivreda Srbije, located on the right bank of the river Sava, approximately 40 km upstream from Belgrade, near the town of Obrenovac.