A modern public warning system will be installed in five towns and villages in Ukraine’s Chernivtsi Oblast and as well as in four others in northern Moldova, in particular the villages of Criva, Drepcăuţi, Şirăuţi and the town of Lipcani. IPN learned from the Moldovan General Inspectorate for Emergencies that the civil defense project has been implemented as part of the Eastern Partnership’s Moldova-Ukraine Territorial Cooperation Program.

The civil defense sirens installed will be used to warn a population of over 10,000 in Moldova and nearly 8,500 in Ukraine when emergencies occur in the Prut River Region.

The beneficiary communities have been identified as the most prone to flooding in the area. It is estimated that the installation of sirens will have a social, economic and environmental impact by reducing the human and financial costs of floods.

The European Union contributed 300,000 euros, or 90% of the total, with Moldova and Ukraine contributing the remainder.