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Serbia and Montenegro: Floods/Landslides DREF Bulletin no. MDRYU001 Final Report

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The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in 185 countries.
In Brief

Period covered by this Final Report: 1 April to 31 July, 2006.

History of this Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)-funded operation:

- CHF 128,150 (USD 103,610 or EUR 81,964) allocated from the Federations DREF on 12 April, 2006 to respond to the needs of this operation, or to replenish disaster preparedness stocks distributed to the affected population.

- This operation was expected to be implemented in four months, and completed by 31 July, 2006. In line with Federation reporting standards, the DREF Bulletin Final Report (narrative and financial) is due 90 days after the end of the operation (by 31 October, 2006).

The International Federation undertakes activities that are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

Background and Summary

Due to the heavy rain, flooding and uncontrolled deforestation in the last several years, landslides occurred on the territory of several municipalities in Serbia in late March and the beginning of April. 38 municipalities all over Serbia - including two municipalities in Belgrade - were affected to different extent by floods and landslides.

Since the beginning of April the water level of several rivers in Serbia has been on the constant rise. On April the 13th, the water in the river Danube reached the highest level ever recorded: 760 cm.

The state of emergency has been proclaimed in six municipalities. The damage included houses, roads and soil. The most serious situation was in municipalities of Beocin and Slankamen where up to 100 families have been evacuated, with water flooding some of the fields, some of the houses and, notably, the hospital in Slankamen.

In Belgrade, the capitol town, the municipality of Cukarica has suffered flooding from the river Sava. About 1,000 people were being ready for evacuat ion and accommodat ion in temporary shelters (five schools). The evacuation from the most critical spot (Ada Ciganlija) started in the night between 13th and 14th. Altogether, around 100 people were eventually evacuated and accommodated in temporary shelters or at their relatives '. At the same time the municipality of Zemun was also affected by floods caused by the river Danube. Thirty families were evacuated and resided in private accommodation.

The Danube also endangered municipalities downstream from Belgrade (Smederevo, Veliko Gradiste and Pozarevac) with hundreds of houses suffering damage from flooding. In these municipalities, there was work around the clock on reinforcing the existing dike system, involving local community, army and Red Cross volunteers.

By the end of the reporting period, the level of all rivers has returned to normal.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Serbia: Red Cross of Serbia, Djula Losonc, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator, djula@redcr oss.org.yu, phone; +381 63 380 735

In Country Delegation: Belgrade Delegation, Knut Felberg, Head of Delegation, e-mail: knut.felberg@ifrc.org , phone: +381 11 328 22 02

In Geneva: Erja Reinikainen, Regional Officer, Europe Department, e-mail: erja.reinikainen@ifrc.org Phone: +41 22 730 43 19, Fax: +41 22 733 03 95

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non -Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org

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