ACT helping people cope with floods in Romania

Geneva, May 4, 2006--Thousands of people in south central Romania are seeking shelter in military tent camps as the swollen Danube River continues to threaten communities; this while hundreds of troops and volunteers are working overtime to shore up the river embankments with sandbags.

The Ecumenical Association of Churches in Romania (AIDRom), a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, reports that following a needs assessment by staff, 500 family food and mineral water parcels are to be distributed this week to people who have lost everything to the floodwaters and now living in temporary tent camps in Dolj county.

Rev. Miklós Ménessy of AIDRom-ACT said that its staff reported that many people seeking shelter in the tent camps were deeply upset at what had happened to them, feeling isolated and alienated from those who had not been touched by the emergency.

Concern has been expressed at the lack of hygienic condition in the tent camps along the Danube as outbreaks of diseases have been reported. In one of the camps it was noted that only seven toilets had been installed for 1,200 people.

Rev. Ménessy says "the all-round misery from disposed waste, insufficient drinking water sources, and the random distribution of all kinds of food, are all potential source for illness and disease." He adds that the authorities have been taking measures to prevent the spread of diseases and that disinfectants have been applied in some areas, but that it has not been sufficient. Medical teams have also been sent to vaccinate flood victims against typhoid fever and other waterborne diseases. AIDRom-ACT's Emergency Unit is hoping to be able to get some 500 family hygiene kits to people as quickly as possible.

By 2 May, 14,120 people had been evacuated to makeshift tent camps, schools, hospitals, and in some cases relatives. 156 localities from 12 counties have been flooded. 2,492 homes are submerged, with 651 having collapsed completely and 122 reported to be on the point of collapse. Over 5,000 household annexes and more than 3,300 wells have also been flooded. 82,000 hectares of agricultural land have been lost to controlled flooding, which means that entire wheat and soy crops have been destroyed, with the result that agricultural activities in the counties of Dolj, Calarasi, Ialomita and Olt have been severely affected.

Other crops, such as maize, barley, pasture and hay fields, have not fared better. Bridges and pedestrian passes too suffered the brunt of the flooding with 266 destroyed or damaged.

Rev. Ménessy reports that the Romanian authorities are struggling to control the general situation in the flooded areas and that priority is being given to assisting people who have to leave their homes. He says that the European Union has offered an amount of 71.2 million Euro to Romania to cover damages caused by the Danube flooding, but that it is not yet known how this money is to be spent, how much will be invested in infrastructure rehabilitation and how much will be set aside for private home reconstruction.

An added concern is that only 2.6 percent of people living in rural areas are insured.

In Calarasi county, people who have lost their houses are also sleeping in tents or have sought shelter with relatives. Compassionate Romanians have offered to host some of the displaced families in parts of the region not as badly affected by the floods, but many villagers in southern Romania do not want to leave their homes, even though they have lost everything. They feel too connected to their native villages and their land.

Hungary and Serbia too are experiencing severe flooding and ACT members in these countries are also responding to people's immediate needs (see http://act-intl.org/news/dt_nr_2006/upeeurope0106.html )