Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Alert - Northern Caucasus - 1/2002
Floods in the Northern Caucasus
Geneva, June 24, 2002

Water from swollen rivers in the Northern Caucasus swept through towns and
villages leaving reportedly more than 50 people dead. Hundreds of others
have been reported missing. The Russian Interior Ministry is reported as
having said that over 75,000 people have been left homeless. Some of them
had to be rescued from their rooftops by helicopters.

Three members of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International are
preparing to assist the affected population. The Russian Orthodox Church
(ROC) will support 2,500 people around Mineralje Vodje in the Stavropol
region. These are unregistered internally displaced persons (IDPs) - not
entitled to official support -, who were surviving in basements which were
all flooded. In Dagestan, ROC will provide relief for 2,000 IDPs as well.

The floods, which have engulfed Chechnya and neighbouring regions in the
North Caucasus, have destroyed houses, roads, bridges and power lines,
leaving many people without electricity. Reports say that the Stavropol
region, bordering on Chechnya, was the worst hit. Local police reported at
least 33 deaths from this area. There are fears that flooding may get
worse as more heavy rains have been forecast.

Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), through their partner, Center for Peace and
Development (CPCD), supports displaced people living in tent camps in
Ingushetia and Chechnya. A focus of the relief will be on the Chechen
capital Grozny, half of which is flooded.

Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HiA) is assessing the situation at the moment.

An appeal for the victims of the flood is being prepared.

Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Co-ordinator, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone
++ 41 79 203 6055)
or
ACT Appeals Officer, Leila Dzaferovic (phone +41 22 791 6710 or mobile
phone +41 79 672 0549)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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