Attachments
Summary of major revisions made to emergency plan of action:
A recommendation to conduct post-distribution monitoring to properly evaluate the implementation of operation was suggested after RDRT mission in Moldova in March 2019. The post-distribution monitoring will be done by Moldova Red Cross during week 2-3 of June 2019. The timeframe of the DREF operation is therefore extended by one month to implement the post-distribution monitoring mission. The operation is fully implemented. No new funds allocation is required.
At least 1,120 families received support within the operation and food parcels and blankets, and 400 families received heaters and coverage of electricity bills as well for three months.
A. SITUATION ANALYSIS
Description of the disaster
Precarious meteorological conditions, abundant snow, low temperatures were registered between 11 and 12 January 2019 on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The level of snow reached 30 – 190 mm throughout Moldova, which was extreme, with most of snow falling in the central and northern part of the country. The Government announced code of danger “yellow” in the country. On 11-12 January the roads were closed for any movement, but after 24 hours cleaned and opened again. 14 communities in 5 districts were left without electricity for one day. Low temperatures were registered (-5 to -11 C°).
Low temperatures in Moldova have been registered until the end of January. On 20 January, several regions of the country were affected by the icy rain, which covered all the roads in snow. It was reported that a total of 5,460 people was affected by the disaster. Many people with limited physical mobility and living alone were blocked in their houses limiting their ability to purchase required items, including food. Due to the lower than normal temperatures, the housing condition proved to not be adequate to keep households warm. The most vulnerable were unable to afford the costs of heating and are concerned that additional costs associated with heating would indebt them further. Out of the 5,460 affected people, 2,912 needed Red Cross assistance. These were mainly older people, people with disabilities or people with very low income in their families. Because of their poverty, they could not afford to heat the houses as the heating costs were very high. With the limited income, people preferred to spend money on food or for medicines rather than on heating or electricity put them at risk of developing illnesses and further exacerbating their difficult situation.