On July 19, several districts of
Southern and Eastern Georgia were considerably damaged by a strong storm, rain
and hail. Over 20,000 families have suffered huge losses; their homes and
harvest were destructed. Roads were demolished, and communications and the
water system were put out of order. Residential houses and agricultural land
plots were flooded, cattle was killed and the harvest was destructed. According
to the locals, this was the worst natural disaster they had ever witnessed.
The European Commission will
allocate assistance in the amount of €118,590 for the most aggrieved and
vulnerable groups. This assistance will be distributed through the Georgian Red
Cross Society, which on its part operates under the funding of the Disaster
Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of the Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies.