Since the middle of last week the flood situation in southern Poland has worsened as a result of continuous heavy rainfall. The city of Cracow (Vistula), as well as Kielce and Rzeszow, were initially particularly badly hit. People had to be evacuated, road and rail traffic was disrupted and there were no water, gas and electricity supplies in parts of some badly flooded areas.
Following an official appeal for assistance from the Polish Government on Saturday, 28 July 2001, the Federal Foreign Office made available a first package of measures worth DM 2 million.
A total of 44 persons from the Berlin/Brandenburg/Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony/Thuringia Land associations of the Federal Institute "Technical Support Service" were sent to Poland with electricity generators and equipment for purifying drinking-water on Saturday, 28 July. Furthermore, two staff members of the Technical Support Service were sent as liaison officers to the Polish crisis task force and to the situation centre.
The German Red Cross also sent relief goods consisting of blankets, sleeping bags and disinfectants to the area hit by floods.
The Federal Foreign Office will finance further projects in cooperation with the German Red Cross, the Workers' Samaritan Federation Germany, the ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency and the Johanniter. These projects will focus on supplying the population in the affected areas with hygiene articles, blankets, wellington boots, bed linen, buckets, bin bags, disinfectants and medicine.