The European Union (EU) will contribute 15 million euros (18,6 million U.S. dollars) to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for self-sustainable recovery and housing care after the catastrophic floods in 2014, Federal news agency Fena reported Friday.
The money will fund the second phase of the EU Floods Recovery Program through housing care of 2,895 socially vulnerable persons whose homes were damaged or destroyed in floods in 2014.
Program will mitigate the consequences of floods through the economic empowerment of 555 households through assistance in agricultural production, start-ups of small businesses and employment in the private sector, official press statement said.
The EU Delegation Head of Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross Border Co-operation Gianluca Vannini said that more than 2,800 people will benefit directly from this program.
During the first phase of the Flood Recovery Program (2014-2016), the quality of life for 610,000 people was improved, official press statement says.
In the third week of May 2014, BiH experienced its severest floods in the last 120 years. A vast number of houses were destroyed, damaged or left underwater, leading to a significant number of displaced households. In sum, the total economic impact of the disaster is estimated to have reached 2.04 billion euros (2,5 billion U.S. Dollars) or 15.0 percent of BiH’s GDP in 2014, EU official website says. (1 Euro=1.24 U.S. Dollars)
