prijava
SARAJEVO, February 22 (FENA) - The project "Assistance to Municipalities for Improvement of Early Warning System and Flood Recovery Support - SAFE", focusing on Sanski Most and Oštra Luka municipalities, since two municipalities were particularly affected by floods in 2014 (IPA), will contribute to a better and quicker reaction to possible future floods, it was said at the seminar held today in Sarajevo as part of a project financed by the European Union through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), and implemented by the Center for Security Studies (CSS).
The project was launched in March last year, and the implementation period is 12 months. Its aim is to provide support and recovery to the municipalities of the Sanski Most and Oštra Luka from the floods of May 2014 and to improve the level of early warning systems in cases of natural disasters.
CSS Director Denis Hadžović expressed hope that their activities could improve the situation in these municipalities to recover from the consequences of the flood as soon as possible.
He also said he hoped that the equipment donated to the municipalities through this EU project would enable better prevention and protection in cases of natural disasters, and that the seminars organized within the project would raise awareness of all participants.
The damages in Sanski Most were estimated at around 11 million KM, which is roughly the municipality's annual budget.
Municipal Mayor Faris Hasanbegović noted that four years after the flooding in Sanski Most, much work has been done on the rehabilitation in this municipality, primarily the problem of destroyed more than 2,500 homes, the destruction of more than 3,5 km of local infrastructure and 1,500 hectares of agricultural land.
“Almost 80 percent of the damage was rehabilitated through the aid from the EU funds and funds from many friendly countries, such as Turkey, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the FBiH Government,” he stressed.
Head of the Operations for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Cooperation at the EU Delegation Gianluca Vannini said that the third phase of the EU assistance to areas affected by the floods of 2014 is ongoing, and that is the support to the municipalities of Sanski Most and Oštra Luka in developing the flood prevention system.
He concluded that prevention is perhaps the most important aspect and said that the EU will continue its support and work in joint efforts to improve flood protection.
(FENA) S. R.
