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Emergency crews and volunteers struggled to keep embankments and sand barriers from giving way over the weekend, amid record flooding along the Danube and its tributaries in Serbia. Since Friday, Save the Children UK has been in regular contact with the emergency departments of municipal authorities, the Red Cross and local NGOs to assess the extent of the emergency and ensure children’s needs were being addressed. It found that the Serbian authorities and Serbian Red Cross were meeting the immediate humanitarian need of the affected communities – but that the needs of two groups of young people had not been addressed in the initial response. Roma children in Beocin In Beocin, 250 children were being evacuated from the flooded area, but 70 children, mainly of Roma origin, had been left out of the process. Save the Children UK lobbied the local authority for the Roma representative to be a part of the assessment team so that he could provide precise information about the Roma children. Now all Roma children are being given the help they need and Save the Children are working to make sure that this happens in all municipalities that are liable to flooding. Babies and young children in Smederevo In Smederevo, hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes by the flooding: most of them were lodged with host families, but 56 people were evacuated to a Red Cross refugee centre. The Red Cross told Save the Children that there were 31 children in the refugee centre, including 15 babies who lacked nappies and simple hygiene items. As people will need to stay at the centre for the next few months, Save the Children also talked with staff there about issues such as child protection, and education. It helped to ensure the children had transport to school and are exploring the possibility of establishing pre-school activities for children aged 3-6. The Serbian Red Cross estimates that 7,165 families have been affected by landslides and floods in 30 municipalities. Save the Children will continue to monitor the situation and respond where needed to support the best interests of children. Jasminka Milovanovic, Save the Children’s Communications Officer in Serbia said: "I’ve never seen such floods in my life. But the good thing about such an emergency is that it somehow mobilises people – they feel the need to be together to help each other." Further information
International Federation of the Red Cross: (15 April)