People in Need steps up efforts to bring support to flood-hit regions in Czechia
This year’s floods are the second-largest natural disaster in Czechia’s modern history, with only the August 2002 floods causing more damage. As communities grapple with the destruction, NGOs have ramped-up efforts to provide critical support. I interviewed Marek Štys, Head of Emergency Programs for People in Need, the country’s biggest charity, to find out what they are doing to help.
With the rivers beginning to recede, can you first update us on whether you and other organizations assisting those affected most by floods are able to help those in the most heavily stricken areas, such as Krnov and Jeseník?
“Yes, these are exactly the two areas we are focusing on but at the same time, we are coordinating with other organizations, particularly from Ostrava, Opava, Bohumin, and other cities, which were affected because we want to avoid discrepancies on the level of communities and regions.
“So, this is one of the key tasks to get out of this emergency space. So many of us have been working out of the material support we have been providing to communities from the wheelbarrows and the shovels, protective equipment, and so forth. There are plenty of things that are inaccessible in the villages at the moment.
“And from now on, we are focusing on the long-term rehabilitation phase. The key thing we hope to soon be able to distribute is direct financial assistance to the households. But the methodology and the timeframe are the primary things we are dealing with at the moment, coordinating with other NGOs.”
What are some of the ways donations have helped?
“We have provided bottled water because a lot of these villages and particularly those located upstream were inaccessible for the first couple of days were struggling with water schemes, pipelines, and wells being damaged, so it would take time before they get repaired.
“But with the area being accessible now, the army helping with the most difficult locations, the situation is improving day by day. That said, some of these villages will struggle for the next couple of months before access to these basic services is restored.”
Is your team international at the moment or are you primarily working with Czech employees People in Need or do you also have an international team?
“No, it's a purely Czech team. We are using a lot of colleagues from our regional office in Olomouc. And we have also mobilized our first response team, so we have about 80 people in the field at the moment. They are mostly focused on visiting each and every flooded household in the region and basically getting the data about the scale of the damage and also the social and economic situation.”
You are still accepting donations, can you provide listeners a place they can go to donate?
“We have the SOS Floods fund for which we have received very generous donations, showing the solidarity of Czech society in these situations. At the moment, we have over CZK 200 million. We are quite confident from companies and other donors that we will be reaching over CZK 300 million and even higher, which is about 15 million euros. Again it’s showing that in these difficult situations, the Czech society is extremely empathetic and joins with us in these efforts.”
