New equipment for the Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology of Montenegro within a cross-border project Let’s Be Prepared

New equipment for numerical weather prediction and numerical early warning has been procured for the Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology of Montenegro within a cross-border project of FORS Montenegro, Let’s Be Prepared. The aim of the project is to strengthen capacities of institutions and services from Montenegro and Serbia dealing with protection and rescue for prevention and mitigation of floods and fires, as well as to raise the awareness of the local population in the cross-border area on disaster risk reduction. The project is funded by the European Union within the IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Serbia – Montenegro 2014-2020 and in Montenegro it is co-funded by the Ministry of Public Administration. The Contracting Authority for the project is the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia – Department for Contracting and Financing of EU Funded Programmes.
New equipment whose value is € 19,350 enables faster and more efficient forecasting of meteorological and hydrological conditions, as well as to the improvement of the early warning system related to natural hazards, of meteorological and hydrological origin.
The eighteen-month project is being implemented in Montenegro and Serbia, and its other activities include procurement of equipment and vehicles whose estimated value is app. € 172,000 for institution and services engaged in protection and rescue, cross-border trainings, seminars and demonstration exercises on topics related to protection and rescue in case of fires and floods, trainings for representatives of hydro meteorological services, international conference on disaster risk reduction, awareness raising campaign on the risks of disasters, preventive measures and protection and rescue activities, etc.
The target area of the project includes the municipalities of Berane, Bijelo Polje, Žabljak, Nikšić, Petnjica, Pljevlja and Šavnik in Montenegro and the municipalities of Novi Pazar, Raška, Sjenica and Tutin in Serbia
The project is implemented in partnership with the Sector for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Interior of Serbia and in cooperation with the Directorate for Emergency Management of Montenegro and municipal protection and rescue units in Montenegro.