The results of Project FloodLife for raising public awareness of flood risks and the degree of readiness to respond to floods, and an impressive demonstration of water rescue exercise were presented on Friday, 15 September at Rafting Club Kanjon in Banja Luka. The main objective of Project FloodLife is aimed at strengthening the responsibility of civil sector and public in their response to the natural disasters caused by climate change, with a particular emphasis on floods.
The Internet portal www.poplave.org and mobile application SOS, promotional materials and education guides for dealing with flooding were also presented.
The presentation was attended by the Head of EU Delegation to BiH and EU Special Representative in BiH, Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Minister of Family, Youth and Sports in the RS Government, Jasmina Davidović, representatives of Prijedor, Čelinac and Oštra Luka municipalities, representatives of the entity Civil Protection Administration of Republika Srpska and other distinguished guests.
“Almost every day we see how floods and other natural disasters affect people in the region, in the European Union and worldwide, and this is precisely what reminds us how important it is to have a warning system that is sufficiently fast and efficient. Therefore, Project FloodLife is important because it helps us to prepare for emergencies and flooding. I am optimistic when I see that lessons have been learned and that a great number of services have been included in raising awareness of floods, and we would like to see an even greater cooperation that would also include countries from the region”, Ambassador Wigemark said.
Ambassador Wigemark distributed rescue equipment to the representatives of partner municipalities for local civil protection units in the form of 18 sets of personal equipment and three boats. The European Union invested more than BAM 100,000 in rescue and communication equipment required by the Training Centre and partner municipalities, and the Training Centre received BAM 10,000 worth of professional equipment.
“Through Project FloodLife, the cutting-edge equipment has been procured for a classroom in which civil protection members and volunteers have already been trained, and this is just the beginning, as we plan to strengthen and increase our capacities. We are the first and only Rescue 3 Certified Centre in the country, and beyond. Our message to everyone is “Come for the Training” because we want everyone to learn at least some basics on how to help oneself and others in the case of flooding”, said Aleksandar Pastir, the President of RK and SaR Kanjon.
The City of Banja Luka, where SaR Kanjon is located, is a Project FloodLife partner municipality, while the city Department for Civil Protection Affairs and Professional Territorial Fire Units have been included in its implementation from the very beginning. “Projects such as FloodLife tell us that preventive action is crucial and that is why I would like to thank, on behalf of our local communities, everyone who took part in this project. Experience teaches us it is extremely important for the people to know what to do during natural disasters, and also for the competent services to have the know-how and equipment to be able to respond to such challenges,” said Deputy Mayor of Banja Luka Srđan Amidžić.
An aspect that Project FloodLife pays special attention to is the usage of information technologies for the purpose of informing citizens about various types of danger.
The mobile app SOS has been developed through this activity to be used for early warning of dangers, getting information on changes in water levels and warnings from competent services, communication with close persons, sending an appeal for help, as well as communication between volunteers and civil protection officers using the web platform of the app.
“Scepticism about the usage of information technologies in early warning systems for various disasters is crushed by the examples of extremely successful usage of such means of communication around the world, and it is certain this will very quickly become a common thing in our society, too,” said Zoran Gajić, chairperson of the NGO Exit Centre Steering Board.
After touring the training centre classroom, training participants carried out a demo exercise to demonstrate a way of water rescue, i.e. the practical knowledge they acquired.
“This presentation about the dangers of flooding has been so suggestive I thought a flood would now occur,” said the noticeably impressed Minister Davidović.
Project FloodLife is funded by the European Union in the amount of EUR 220.000 and implemented by the NGO Exit Centre in cooperation with Rafting Club Kanjon, municipalities of Banja Luka, Čelinac, Oštra Luka and Prijedor, Hydrometeorological Institute of Republika Srpska and Čelinac Development Agency.
