People in Need Helping in the Districts of Trutnov and Kolín by Providing Emergency Relief and Volunteers

We are lending a helping hand primarily in the regions where the people have no experience with such a large-scale flood, or to those who were taken by surprise by flash floods coming from smaller rivers or streams. On Sunday, People in Need launched the ‘SOS Floods 2013’ fundraising campaign which has already generated more than 4.7 million Czech crowns. Moreover, PIN has set up a special website devoted to ‘SOS Floods 2013’ offering all useful contact details as well as a manual for the households having been affected by the floods.

 
Donations can be sent to the ‘SOS Floods 2013’ charity account 72027202/0300
Payment from abroad:
IBAN: CZ67 0300 0000 0000 7202 7202, SWIFT: CEKOCZPP

The emergency relief was funded by an instant money transfer of 500,000 CZK from the People in Need Club of Friends relief fund. First of all, the assistance was rendered to one hundred households in the region of Trutnov – to the town of Svoboda nad Úpou and the village of Rudník above all. Here is what PIN Flood Coordinator Jan Faltus says: “We bought some equipment for the initial phase of the cleaning works such as wheelbarrows, cleaning cloths, detergents and cleaning agents, brooms, rubber gloves, or shovels and we handed them right out of the van to the families, whose houses have been inundated most.”

In this area, the people were taken aback by a flash flood that had come from the slopes of the Černá hora mountain. Commonly lazy streams suddenly turned into rivers rising as high as one and a half metre. “For instance, as for the Čistá stream, local witnesses could not remember having experienced floods before. On top of that, the severe flash flood struck at 4 a.m. when a lot of people were fast asleep,” explains Jan Faltus as he adds that most of the affected houses have been inundated as high as one metre.
 
The neighbourhood of Kolín and its inhabitants received an even more massive shock after the swollen small rivers Výrovka and Mrlina had flooded the area. What is more, even the people in their seventies cannot recollect such a devastating flood. “The local chronicle dating back to 1600 A.D. does not mention any similar disaster. Therefore, the people were totally unprepared for emergency evacuation, which had to be executed within two hours,” says PIN Flood Coordinator Jiří Velenský while mentioning that each village has tens of inundated houses.
 
Furthermore, a van loaded with 1,200 litres of cleaning agents, 400 litres of detergents, disinfectants and other cleaning equipment like rubber gloves or cloths set out for the town of Pečky. “In Pečky, the whole load will be taken out and distributed among six neighbouring villages according to their specific needs,” describes Jiří Velenský while pointing out that businesspeople often offer free haulage. In the afternoon, the first five volunteers moved off to the village of Kláštěrní Skalice. “It was the local mayor who has asked us to help with clearing up the ramshackle houses. We will be assisted by five Scout Guides for at least three days. We have just equipped them with the cleaning equipment,” Jiří Velenský concludes.
 
The team of People in Need is also giving a helping hand in the vicinity of the Ústí nad Labem City, where the River Elbe is only about to peak.  This is how Vít Kučera, the head of PIN Ústí nad Labem Office describes the situation: “Three people are on the phone with about 120 villages while they are attempting to collect information on their requirements. However, there is still water everywhere so the exact extent of damage could not have been assessed yet. At the moment, we are just collecting contacts and trying to agree on future aid. Then, there are other six people in the field. They assist in evacuation centres, where they, for example, organize leisure activities for children or they extend aid to the people outside the centres,” adds Kučera and he remarks that PIN is naturally taking care of their existing clients from the flooded areas when providing them with housing, for instance.
 
The flood team of People in Need is continuously being joined by other members and it is maintaining contact with tens of municipalities and their representatives. As soon as the flood waters recede, the coordinators will set out for the regions of Mělník, Litoměřice, Ústí nad Labem, and Děčín where an urgent need of aid will definitely arise. At the same time, PIN is building teams of social workers for a long-term cooperation. These people will operate directly in the villages and will allocate cash grants from the ‘SOS Floods 2013’ fundraising campaign on the basis of needs assessment, i. e. the extent of damage or specific requirements of individuals and families.
 
PIN’s ‘SOS Floods 2013’ fundraising campaign was launched on Sunday. Until now, more than 4.7 million Czech crowns have been collected. Moreover, another 500,000 CZK has been released from the People in Need Club of Friends relief fund. The organization has also set up a special website called ‘SOS Floods 2013’ providing all useful contact details and a manual for the flooded households.
 
It is for the sixth time People in Need has been providing aid during floods so it can draw on its experience of previous floods in the years of 1997, 2002, 2006, 2009, and 2010. During the last floods three years ago the organization lent assistance in 115 municipalities and 1,049 households were allocated a cash grant of between 5,000 and 200,000 CZK. Last but not least, the donors helped the victims by collecting more than 50 million Czech crowns and there were 170 volunteers assisting in particular municipalities under the auspices of People in Need.