WATER BALANCE COMPONENTS DURING RECENT FLOODS IN CROATIA

Sa？etak Water balance components according to the Palmer model were analysed for floods in Croatia in 2010, 2013 and 2014. A detailed analysis of water balance components (precipitation, loss, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge and surface runoff) can reveal whether the flood originates from local precipitation or extreme precipitation, and/or snow melting that occurred elsewhere in the upper parts of the basin. According to the analysis described in the paper, abundant water in 2010, besides high local precipitation, came mainly from the upper parts of the basins, due to high precipitation in that area. A combination of large amounts of precipitation and rapid snow melting caused severe flooding in 2013, while favorable flooding conditions in 2014 are the result of long-lasting precipitation and soil saturation