Feketeardó/Tschornotisov, Transcarpathia
Thursday, 22.Mar.2001

Report from the area of the disaster

Dear Brothers and sisters, dear friends,

As of now I have already been in Ukraine for 3 days and find myself in a village which this time is most severely affected by the flood. One can hardly find the words to describe how it looks. “Even after the war it didn't look like this.” - an elderly woman reported to me, who had lost her house, summer kitchen and stall. “You can count on two hands how many houses on our street are still standing” - said a young man who was just then clearing some remnants, while pointing to the street I couldn't see the end of it.

A flooded street

While on the street I can only drive 20 to 30 kmh, since the street is partly in bad repair, and partly missing, with only a ditch in its place. In front and in back of me tractors are moving which are carrying the remains of houses to trash dumps. On the street I meet a white Lada (car). Christians from other places have come; they distribute lunch at no charge. Many people come with containers and are delighted at the meal. In this village there are about 300 families who have lost everything. Many were already accepted into some shelter, others are still looking for a place to flee to. The army is helping the vicitims. They tear down the ruined houses and sort stone, wood, furniture etc. and garbage.

Official numbers--three weeks after the disaster, as repored by Statistic Central in Uzhgorod (capital of the Oblast' of Transcarpathia):

33.539 houses are or were affected by the water, in many places being 3 to 4 meters deep.
1.681 houses completely destroyed
roughly another 10.000 houses are dangerous to live in
9 towns can only be reached by helicopter
innumerable animals drowned in the dirty, cold water (sheep, goats, cattle, horses, rabbits, etc.).

In the village where I am now located there is the greatest damage in the county. 327 houses were completely destroyed and another 74 will not survive. I see sad faces. A mother who found refuge with her family tells me: “Our children ask every day, when can we go home again? How shall I explain to them?”. Thank the Lord that the accesss to this village with its 3,200 inhabitants is finally open, so needed goods can be delivered.

Important! I spoke to a customs official who gave me the following information: All transport units bringing help and containing no medication will be allowed into Ukraine. According to Ukrainian embassies in Berlin and Bonn, Germany, and in Brussels in the Belgium) there is supposed to be a free visa issued to persons bringing aid. All transport units bringing help are to arrive by May 1st, 2001. Distribution is permitted for those who have brought help, but it is more desirable to cooperate with volunteers of the evangelical Reformed Church. Continuation on 28 March 2001

Yesterday I received the news that in the same region, avalanches of stone and mud have destroyed 151 houses. Another 430 are threatened. Since the water quickly dug large ditches on the sides of mountains due to the quick melting of snow in the mountains, mudslides are made possible. Thus especially the houses are threatened which were built at the foot of a mountain, and which cannot be reached because of the flood.

I could still write a lot more, for example about the children standing in mud up to their knees in front of their houses (most of the destroyed houses were built out of sod blocks), or about the hopelessness of the people. All I can do is write about it. Thanks a lot for your prayers and gifts for the people in need. "God hears prayers"--a faithful women said to me from the flooded region of Transcarpathia.

God bless the giver and the gifts!

Friendly greetings, yours, Sándor Molnár with his family

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