Overview

Natural disasters over the first semester of 2012

Daniel Kozak, Communications Officer in the World Bank's Romania office, offers this story.

The facade of Bucharest's Sector One City Hall is pure neo-Romanian baroque, festooned with pillars and arches and flanked by an imposing tower. The inside is a feat of earthquake proof design and engineering.

BUCHAREST/BRATISLAVA (May 7-11, 2011) -- Supporting families affected by disasters requires immediate, comprehensive and collaborative actions. Long after humanitarian aid organizations have completed their relief work, the need for quality shelter and housing remains for months and years.

This report covers the period 01 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.

In brief

Programme outcome

In line with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) Strategy 2020, the aim of the Federation-supported programmes in Romania is to save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen recovery from disasters and crises; to enable healthy and safe living; and to promote social inclusion and a culture of non-violence and peace.

By Claudia Ciobanu

Apr 24, WARSAW, 2012 (IPS) - As the economic slump drags on in Europe, refugees and immigrants are keeping a wary eye on state budgets, as governments in the throes of austerity slash the social protections and public services that minorities rely on.

The question now on the table is whether refugees and migrants will suffer disproportionate hardships as a result of plummeting government spending.

After unusually mild weather in December 2011 and early January 2012 almost all over Europe, the weather situation changed abruptly in the second half of January. An incursion of cold polar air, coming from northern Russia at the south flank of an extensive high pressure area brought a sudden cooling to almost the whole Eurasian continent). During that cold spell, also some considerable snowfall occurred over various parts of the continent. In the first half of February, the cold wave started weakening first in Asia and in mid-February also in Europe.

GENEVA, 21 February 2012 - The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR, today said the European Flood Alert System could soon be put to its greatest test since widespread flooding ten years ago led to its creation by the European Commission.

The UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, said she was particularly concerned about the consequences for those countries bordering the Danube where the ice is now starting to break up in the first signs of a spring thaw.

ACT Rapid Response Payment Request for US$ 49,846. ACT member AIDRom is planning to respond with distribution of relief food & mineral water, and family hygiene kits.

Emergency: Romanian Authorities Declared State of Emergency After Cold Snap and Severe Snow Fall.

Date of Emergency: 27 January – 15 February 2012 (still ongoing)

Requesting Member(s): Ecumenical Association of Churches in Romania - AIDRom

DETAILS OF THE EMERGENCY: