3 April 2006

Helping Slovakia brace for floods Background Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre Responding to a request from Slovakia, NATO and partner countries have provided 150,000 sand bags to help the country cope with overflowing rivers. On 3 April, NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre received an urgent request for assistance from the Slovak Republic. Due to heavy rain and melting snow in the middle and western parts of the country in recent days, the rivers Vah, Dunaj and Morava are overflowing. Rapid response To cope with the situation, the Slovak Republic urgently requested 150,000 sand bags. NATO member and partner countries were swift to respond and 24 hours later Austria, Croatia, Germany and Poland had pledged to deliver the necessary quantity of sand bags. 100,000 bags have been delivered already, and the remaining 50,000 will be delivered today.