Moldovan PM says priority one to be citizens' security

Chisinau, 21 April /MOLDPRES/ – The crisis cell, which includes all the structures responsible for managing the difficult situation caused by the abundant snowfall, gathered in a new meeting, presided by Prime Minister Pavel Filip. The Prime Minister urged the authorities a maximum mobilization to cope with the weather and to wipe out the consequences of the fallen snow, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.

"The first priority for us is citizens’ security. Here we have to focus first and foremost on common efforts. It is important that we do not have people blocked and that medical institutions are functional," said Pavel Filip. The Prime Minister urged that where the ambulances could not be reached in order to give first aid to the citizens, the National Army's specially trained cars should departure.

Pavel Filip called for coordination of all actions through the Crisis Cell which would receive 24/24 hours of citizens' calls and outlined the importance of good communication and cooperation between authorities, emergency services and citizens. "We have enough forces and the necessary capabilities, especially with involvement of the National Army and the Carabineers. Now the most important thing is good organization and communication," the Executive’s head mentioned.

Also, the Prime Minister urged the citizens not to leave the homes within the next 24 hours and asked institutions in charge to inform the population systematically about accessibility of the national roads and border crossing points.

Among the main priorities for overcoming the difficulty caused by bad weather, the Prime Minister also mentioned the necessity to re-connect the localities to electricity, unlocking the national and local routes, removing the trees fallen over roads and rivers, taking the necessary measures to prevent the floods.

According to the information at the meeting, 703 localities remain disconnected from electricity, several routes are blocked and on national roads it is circulated with difficulty. Up to 330 special vehicles are used in snow removal works. The rescuers are helped by the soldiers and the carabineers.

The Prime Minister asked the Crisis Cell to identify the urgent needs of the population and to intervene promptly in ensuring the citizens with all the necessary and Moldsilva Agency to be actively involved in the cleaning of the fallen trees.

At the same time, the Prime Minister said that foreign partners are ready to help the Government in overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, and a special account for the accumulation of donations will be created for this purpose.