With floods continuing to ravage Central Europe, and fresh emergencies developing, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies today launched a preliminary appeal for more than 1.7 million Swiss francs to assist flood victims in the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia.
Some 200,000 people have been evacuated in the Czech Republic where conditions are worsening in North Bohemia. The Danube is surging through Slovakia and threatening the capital, Bratislava, and Romania is facing the consequences of floods which have swept 24 counties.

The appeal will support an operation to assist 450,000 people with food, water, hygiene articles and other relief goods, over the next three months, 250,000 of them by the Czech Red Cross, 50,000 by the Slovak Red Cross and 150,000 by the Romanian Red Cross. Due to the nature of the catastrophe those helped will range from entire families to the elderly and hospital patients.

The International Federation released 100,000 Swiss francs from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to facilitate the start up of the operations.

For further information and/or to set up interviews (ISDN line available) please contact:

In Budapest

John Sparrow, Regional Information Delegate
Tel: + 3620 340 24 60

In Geneva

Jemini Pandya, Acting Head, Media Service
Tel: + 41 22 730 45 70 / + 41 79 217 3374

Marie-Françoise Borel, Press Officer
Tel: + 41 79 217 33 45 / + 41 79 416 3881 (duty phone)