CHF 165,477 was allocated from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies` (IFRC) Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Russian Red Cross Society in delivering immediate assistance to families affected by floods in the Volgograd region. While the initial assessment gave the number of beneficiaries at 957 families (2,406 people), the number of families in need increased to 1,187 families by the effective implementation of the operation.
Summary:
According to the initial estimation, as a result of the spring floods on the Elan and Tersa rivers in April 2012, 957 families (approximately 2,406 people) were affected in three districts of the Volgograd region of Russia. The local authorities did their utmost to stabilize the situation, but once the situation started worsening, they addressed the Russian Red Cross regional branch asking for humanitarian aid. The Russian National Society applied for DREF support through the IFRC Moscow Regional Representation, so that the RRC Regional Branch could respond to the needs of the affected population through provision of non-food items (hygienic kits, bed linen sets, mattresses, blankets, and pillows) to the affected families. Although the initial assessment provided the lower number of potential operation beneficiaries, the needs of the affected communities increased during the progress of the operation. This was negotiated with the RRC regional branch by the representatives of the affected communities (heads of local community committees) and local municipalities. As a result, the decision was taken to re-distribute the contents of the non-food relief parcels to provide smaller amount of aid to the larger number of the affected families. The final number of the beneficiaries approved by the local government authorities and provided with relief has thus made 1,187 families (2,968 people).
During the implementation period of the operation, the Volgograd Regional Branch of the RRC was closely cooperating with the municipalities of Kumylzhensky and Yelansky districts, jointly assessing the needs of the affected communities and preparing lists of the potential beneficiaries. Several staff members of the local administrations’ social support departments were involved: about five officials in each district.