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Serbia and Montenegro/Kosovo: Floods DREF No. MDRKV001 Final Report

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IFRC
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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: 27 February to 24 April, 2006.

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

- CHF 131,250 allocated from the Federations DREF on 27 February 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 two months, and completed by 24 April 2006. In line with Federation reporting standards, the DREF Bulletin Final Report (narrative and financial) was due 90 days after the end of the operation (by 24 July 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

Melting snow and heavy rains in February and March 2006 caused flooding in at least fourteen municipalities across Kosovo. The increased water levels in the rivers broke the banks/dams and flooded the surrounding areas. The flooding caused damage to houses and personal belongings, agricultural land and equipment, and the power system. Some villages in the rural and poorer part of the province were inaccessible for several days. An estimated 200 families (approx. 1,200 people) had to be evacuated from the affected areas and sheltered in neighbouring villages.

The flooding was worst in the rural areas where the social problems of the province are affecting the highest number of people - a fragile economy, high unemployment, and a wide spectrum of social groups in need of special assistance are just some of the pressing issues for Kosovo's institutions. With about 10% of the resident population receiving the low social assistance benefits and many more families not eligible for such assistance due to highly restrictive criteria, the needs in the social sector are extremely high. These flooding thus had a further deteriorating effect on the social situation of the province as the majority of affected people already belong to the poorest of the province who were not in a position to cope with the situation on their own.

The allocated Minor Emergency funds from DREF were used to procure the following relief items: 1,500 blankets, 800 mattresses, 677 hygiene kits (standard family), 1200 pairs of rubber boots, 6,000 packs of drinking water (bottled, 9 litres per pack), 323 food parcels (family food parcel for one month), 500 jerry cans, 98 wood stoves, 230 m3 firewood (2 m3 per family).

The situation was assessed by the branches and beneficiary lists were produced in close coordination with the local emergency departments and municipal authorities. The relief items were distributed on a needs basis by the local Red Cross volunteers.

All activities related to this minor emergency were implemented according to plan. The remaining emergency goods were used to replenish and improve the emergency buffer stocks of the local RC organisations.

Coordination

The Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement was the only organisation responding to the humanitarian needs of the Minor Emergency. The Federation, both Red Cross organizations in Kosovo and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) closely cooperated in this emergency, which was coordinated in the field by the branch secretaries and on central level by the disaster management (DM) Coordinators. All activities were in coordination with the central and local emergency departments, Kosovo Police Service and the social welfare authorities.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Kosovo: Gunther Pratz, Head of Office, email: gunther.pratz@ifrc.org; phone+ 381.38.224.283, fax: +381.38.228.599

In Budapest: Caroline Mawdsley, Office Manager in Charge of Programmes, email: caroline.mawdsley@ifrc.org; phone: +361.248.33.00

In Geneva: Erja Reinikainen, Regional Officer, Europe Department, email: 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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