Press Release

UN in Moldova supports quick recovery after heavy snowfall in April

19 August 2019

The UN in Moldova has promptly responded to an urgent request from the National Civil Protection and Emergency Situations Service in the afternoon of the 21st of April, when a state of emergency was announced in Chisinau. The request comes after Moldova experienced heavy and frosty snow in the southern and central regions of the country, starting on Thursday, 20 April.

Essential items, such as 41 electricity generators, 30 chainsaws and fuel were purchased by the UN and delivered to the authorities today. This will enable the authorities to provide access to electricity, ensure safety from damaged trees, and provide access to blocked localities. The generators will be distributed in 12 affected districts and Chisinau municipality, and the chainsaws – in 10 districts and Chisinau.

The cost of the items amount to approx. 47,000 USD and was covered by the UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UN WOMEN, IOM and UNAIDS. On Tuesday, 25 of April 2017, a UN expert will travel to Moldova to conduct a rapid needs assessment.

The UN will continue to monitor closely the situation and deploy necessary assistance, including additional technical and advisory support. Given the high amount of precipitations, there is also serious risk of flooding and landslides announced by the authorities.

In 2007, the UN in Moldova coordinated a prompt response to cope with a severe drought, which compromised the harvest in over 80 per cent of the Republic of Moldova’s agricultural lands. With UN Support, over 383,000 drought victims received wheat seeds, fertilizers, diesel fuel, fodder, corn seeds, and food packs. 22 villages in districts that were severely affected by the drought also received cash assistance to carry out public works to rehabilitate various facilities in these communities.

The UN has also supported Moldova’s recovery after the floods of 2008, drought of 2012, so as heavy snowfall of 2014. Moldova has the highest vulnerability to climate change and disaster in the Europe and Central Asia region, with average annual economic loss of 2.13% of GDP. Due to catastrophic events of 0.5% annual probability occurrence, the country will lose 10% of GDP per year. These risks are affecting primarily the rural poor and women.

The UN is committed to support countries in a crisis context and ensure immediate relief efforts while helping communities build resilience, the ability to cope with and quickly bounce back from unexpected and disruptive events. The United Nations makes a critical contribution to these efforts, by being present on the ground immediately after the onset of a crisis and linking humanitarian response to long term recovery.