 On the
international scene |
In 2002, three main events marked the Czech history:
the invitation to join the European Union in the
Copenhagen summit, and the NATO Summit successfully
held in Prague in November 2002. The last event
was one of the worst in Europe last summer: the
devastating floods that hit many of the cities
of the country at the end of summer 2002.
The Copenhagen Summit -invitation to join the
EU
December the 13th 2002 was an important date for
the Czech Republic since the country was invited,
during the Copenhagen Summit, to joint the European
Union by May 2004.
The NATO Summit
The NATO Summit held in Prague from the 20th to
the 22nd of November of 2002 was a successful
international summit for the Czech people and
for the entire world. It was also a great opportunity
for all the presidents and heads of states to
say good-bye to Mr. Havel, since he left the presidency
in February 2003. The General Secretary of NATO,
Lord Robertson, announced in Prague the decision
to invite Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Bulgaria and Rumania to the Alliance,
as the North Atlantic Council session convened.
|
The strike of the
floods
The disastrous floods, which highly exceeded the
level of a hundred-year
waters, hit worst Prague and the regions of Southern
Bohemia, Central Bohemia, Western and Northern Bohemia;
into a lesser extent, Southern Moravia was affected.
Approximately 506 villages and towns were flooded,
including about 40 historical sites, whose historic
cores are preserved as conservation areas; two of
them are listed in the UNESCO list of monuments:
Prague and a pearl of Czech towns - Ceský
Krumlov. These important towns together with Terezin
suffered most, and we are not only talking about
their cultural monuments.
Some figures illustrate how the summer 2002 floods
devastated the country:
-17 people died
-200.000 people were urgently evacuated
-More than 50.000 people were forced to leave their
homes
-24.000 emergency workers in action during the floods
-More than 1000 residential houses were destroyed
-More than 250 bridges were damaged
-Huge damage to the cultural Czech heritage
-Floods totally affected 6 of the 14th regions of
the country
-Damage cost estimation rose up to 3 billion USD
-Two years is the expected time of reconstruction
Above all this, there is one impossible figure to
calculate: the personal and moral damage endured
by the Czech people, which will never be recovered.
|
