SARAJEVO (afp) - Authorities declared a state of emergency in northeast Bosnia after three days of heavy rains caused floods that have forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, Bosnian radio reported Wednesday.

It said flooding around the northeastern town of Tuzla damaged the water supply system, destroyed four bridges and led to the evacuation of some 1,000 households.

Authorities in the northeastern town of Brcko urged the army to provide boats to evacuate people. It is expected that some houses near Brcko city center would be flooded overnight.

Meanwhile in Bosnia's Serb-run entity of Republika Srpska, three bridges were destroyed and families from more than 50 houses were evacuated in the Banja Luka region, Bosnian Serb radio reported.

The authorities fear that if the bad weather continues a hydro-electric plant near Banja Luka would have to release water from a storage lake which may cause additional damage and more rain is expected.