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Army relief effort focused on village of 460 families, 330 of which lost everything.
Flood-hit villagers from Vadu Rosca, Romania, turn to The Salvation Army for help. Photo courtesy of International Headquarters. |
Salvation Army emergency workers in the eastern European country of Romania are assisting hundreds of people whose homes and livelihoods have been lost to floods.
With recent news centered on devastating hurricanes and earthquakes not much attention has focused on repeated flooding in Romania—the worst in decades. The country has suffered six bouts of flooding this year, starting in April and continuing through September.
The Salvation Army is responding to Romania’s crisis, which has claimed 77 lives and destroyed thousands of homes. The government projects the overall damage at more than 1.8 billion dollars.
The Army is focusing its efforts in the village of Vadu Rosca, which has sustained major damage and was receiving little help. Water was two meters high in many houses and 17 people had died. The village has 460 families and 330 are registered as having lost everything.
While they await reconstruction, residents are living in tents or wooden huts, and they need food aid. The Salvation Army plans to give each family a food ration, including pasta, sugar, rice, flour, corn, oil and potatoes, to see them through the winter. The cost for each ration is about $30.
This distribution will be an ongoing program using Army volunteers and assistance from the mayor’s office.
Captain Gheorghe Roman, project leader for The Salvation Army’s flood response in Romania, writes, “Food is a major need, but only one small step in helping families recover from this disaster. We would also like to distribute bed sheets, pillows and blankets before the cold winter weather arrives. Ideally these should be distributed as families move into their new homes but we do not have the funds. These families have lost everything. Replacing just the basic furniture for 300 families [bed, mattress, table and chairs and wardrobe] will cost around $130,000. The mayor is willing to help with transportation if we can secure the funding.”
To help ease the suffering of Romania’s flood victims, donations may be made online to the European Disaster Fund at www1.salvationarmy.org.—Excerpted from an IHQ news release