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Zagreb, 13 March 2012

UNDP to help Croatia improve disaster preparedness

USD 100,000 agreement signed with National Protection and Rescue Directorate

Severe snowfalls followed by an extreme drop in temperature and heavy winds endangered lives and disrupted transport and commerce in Croatia in February 2012. Conditions were particularly severe on the Dalmatian coast and hinterland, requiring the engagement of all available domestic rescue and protection capacities to save lives and maintain food supplies and health services. To help Croatia cope better with extreme weather conditions, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated USD 100,000 in emergency funding to support the National Protection and Rescue Directorate (DUZS). A cooperation agreement aimed at helping DUZS assess risks and improve coordination in disaster response was signed on 13 March by UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Louisa Vinton and DUZS Director Jadran Perinić.
"Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events like the one we witnesses in Croatia in February," said Vinton. "This heightened unpredictability makes the job of rescue services even more difficult and puts a premium on improved risk assessments and better prevention work. This is the aim behind UNDP's new project with DUZS."

Perinić welcomed the new UNDP initiative and expressed appreciation for the past good cooperation between the two institutions. While noting that Croatia still lacks capacity in disaster preparedness, he emphasized the importance of Croatia's international orientation, and its readiness to share its experience in prevention and early response to natural disasters as a model in establishing a more modern and efficient civil protection system.

Vinton and Perinic

The recent winter disaster left people in many remote areas isolated and without electricity, water, and heating. The worst-affected areas were the coastal counties of Split-Dalmatia, Sibenik-Knin, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Zadar and Primorje-Gorski kotar, and the Slavonian counties of Osijek-Baranja and Brod-Posavina. No final figure has been calculated for the damages, but they run to the millions of dollars in hard-hit municipalities such as Metković.

The aim of the project is to boost the capacities of Croatian national and local authorities by providing technical assistance to improve needs assessments and enhance coordination between central, county and municipal bodies. These efforts are aimed at improving planning and enhancing the effectiveness of state services, especially in early recovery activities.


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