Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Floods DREF Operation Operation n° MDRMK004 Glide n° FL-2015-000012-MKD Date of issue: 12 February 2014 Date of disaster: 22 January 2015 Operation manager (responsible for this EPoA): Point of contact (name and title): Ali Samet – DM Coordinator Sasho Taleski [email protected] / [email protected] Macedonian Red Cross [email protected] Operation start date: Expected timeframe: 4 months Overall operation budget: CHF 179,211 Number of people affected: 100,000 Number of people to be assisted: 3,740 people (935 families), including the people already assisted Host National Society: Red Cross Society of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Number of staff and volunteers involved in the emergency operation: 52 staff and 248 volunteers Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners actively involved in the operation (if available and relevant): N/A Other partner organizations actively involved in the operation: National Agencies for Crisis Management of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia A. Situation analysis Description of the disaster In the last week of January, Macedonia was affected by storms with heavy rainfalls and snow in the higher areas. The storms caused serious damages in the eastern part of the country, especially in the Municipality of Karbinci where a few villages were immediately evacuated due to the rise of the water levels of the rivers as well as the artificial lake Kalimanci and Gradche where the dams reached their full capacity. Due to the efforts of the National Coordinative Body, the people were evacuated in the city of Shtip or Radovish, while the cattle were moved to lands on a higher altitude. Red Cross volunteers are conducting assessment in municipality of At the end of January 2015 another alarm was set for Mogila Photo: Red Cross of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia storms which occurred during the last weekend of the month. The situation had already been critical due to the high level of the rivers and the inundated dams in eastern Macedonia, and in addition the warmer weather and the rains caused an early melting of the snow in the mountain areas which additionally worsened the situation in the affected regions. The National Crisis Management Body immediately prepared and executed an action plan and undertook activities for reducing the expected flood impact. All government institutions on the national and local levels mobilized their resources and allowed their immediate deployment. The region of Bitola incorporates two additional municipalities, Mogila and Novaci, and Bitola is the most affected region by the recent floods. Namely, the heavy rains and the high level of water from the previous months but also the serious amount of garbage and rubble in the riverbed of the river Crna caused serious flooding on the agricultural Page | 2 fields and cut off several villages. Although the state institutions both on central and local levels invested significant efforts in order to reduce the floods, the water succeeded to penetrate the homes of the local population. The local institutions in joint action with the locals were placing sandbag blocks on the most exposed sections which proved to be insufficient. On the night of 4 February 2015, the level of the river Crna reached a record high level and posed a serious threat to the municipality of Novaci, that is mostly to the houses that were in the first row. The local crisis management centre had to undertake a drastic measure and cut the main road and as a result, the municipality was partially saved. In the whole above mentioned region, the water supply infrastructure is severely damaged and the water is not potable for the time being. Summary of the flooded regions Total no. of Total no. of Flooded Assisted Assisted Municipalities affected affected Villages region families people families people Konche 407 1,631 Konche 15 60 1 Radovish Radovish 455 1,820 Injevo 5 20 Ceshinovo - Chiflik 4 16 2 Kochani 1,872 7,490 Obleshevo Ularci 39 156 Puhce 13 52 Shtip 1,630 6,520 Stepanci 5 20 Suvo Grlo 6 24 3 Shtip Kozjak 12 48 Karbinci 1,003 4,012 Kuchica 38 152 Gaber 6 24 Vasherejca 98 392 Novo Selani 33 132 Mogila 1,677 6,710 Noshpal 166 664 Mogila 27 108 Novaci 887 3,549 Topolchani 5 20 4 Bitola Loznani 60 240 Egri 14 56 Bitola 4,964 19,857 Opticari 16 64 Kravari 23 92 Zhabeni 13 52 Shupli kamen 5 30 5 Kumanovo Kumanovo 546 3,280 Jachince 5 30 Pcinje 20 120 Strumica 1,222 4,890 Monospitovo 30 120 Dabile 11 44 6 Strumica Bosilevo 2,645 10,580 Sachevo 13 52 Murtino 46 184 Novo Lagovo 12 48 Galichani 9 36 Prilep 1,630 6,520 Kadino Selo 16 64 7 Prilep Klepach 13 78 Vrbjani 22 132 Krivogashtani 1,450 5,800 Borotino 8 48 8 Kicevo Kicevo 541 3,250 St. Prilepska 85 510 Livadishta 9 Sveti Nikole Sveti Nikole 2,125 8,500 (villages in Ovce 23 92 Pole) 10 Skopje Gazi Baba 35 140 v. Smilkovci 19 114 11 Gostivar Gostivar 246 1,480 Gostivar / / 12 Ohrid Ohrid 246 985 Ohrid / / 13 Struga Struga 254 1,528 Misleshovo / / 14 Resen Resen 364 1,458 Resen / / TOTAL 24,199 100,000 935 4,094 Page | 3 The figures of the state authorities are based on the disaster`s overall impact on the population in the affected regions (economic impact such as flooded lands with crops), but they are not necessarily the families directly hit by the floods. Summary of the current response Overview of Host National Society In the past years, the Red Cross Society of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has been actively engaged in strengthening the capacities on national and especially on local level in cooperation with the local and national stakeholders, with special priority to community resilience. During the years, the National Society has conducted various theoretical and practical simulation exercises in the country, and, as a result, there are trained teams for disaster response on the local level. Over the past years, the National Society was using the DREF tool: in 2012 for the extreme winter conditions, in 2013 for floods and in 2015 again for extreme winter condition. This last DREF operation was focused on the replenishment of the stock. The past operations as well as the numerous trainings on local and national level resulted in a rapid and efficient response by the staff and the volunteers during the whole period. Movement Coordination During the crisis period the Macedonian Red Cross has been in constant communication and coordination with the IFRC Europe Zone Office in Budapest. Additionally the Red Cross National Societies of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia contacted the Macedonian Red Cross and offered their support. At the moment of publishing of this EPoA, the contacts are still in process and assistance may be requested in case more serious rainfalls take place. Overview of non-RCRC actors in country The Red Cross Society of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is part of the National Crisis Management System which is composed of the following institutions: Centre for Crisis Management, Directorate for Protection and Rescue, Ministries of Health, Transport and Communication, Labour and Social Policy, Interior and Defense, as well as several other state agencies. The same system is developed on local level as well, where the local governments are supported by the regional centres of the above mentioned institutions including the ambulance service and the fire brigade. The system allows a timely and efficient dissemination of information and in accordance with the official SOP’s to undertake different actions in different situations. Until this moment the system has been functional, and is constantly improving after each operation. As in the past, during this operation too, the Red Cross Society of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is fully engaged in the operation on the national level and the local level and provides support for the state institutions within its mandate and capacities. Representatives from both the Macedonian RC HQ and the local branches are actively participating in the meetings of the crisis management bodies on a daily basis. Activities of the Red Cross Society of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Since the onset of the floods the Red Cross Society of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has been engaged in the work of the National Crisis System with the governmental institutions. The National Disaster Response Team was also alerted for possible deployment to support the staff and volunteers from the Local Branches which were in the flooded regions. The local teams conducted needs and situation assessment in coordination with the local authorities and institutions and with support from the Red Cross Society of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia HQ. The Local Branches of Kumanovo, Kochani, Shtip, Radovish, Strumica, Prilep, Bitola, Kichevo, Sveti Nikole and the Red Cross Branch of Skopje City are finalizing the assessments in coordination with the local authorities, and further relief items are requested for the needs of the affected population. The staff and volunteers have already visited the affected areas and in the next days they will be fully engaged in their communities. The Red Cross volunteers also assisted the local authorities during the evacuation of 30 families in Shtip. Most of the people went to stay with relatives, while those that didn’t have any place to stay, were accommodated in the military barracks in Shtip. Page | 4 Volunteers distributing relief items in Shtip. Joint assessment with the local self-government.