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Russian emergencies ministry sends humanitarian aid convoy to flood-hit Macedonia

Macedonia appealed to Russia for humanitarian aid after deadly floods that hit capital Skopje and areas around it on August 6 and 7

MOSCOW, September 8. /TASS/. The Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations dispatches a convoy with humanitarian aid to Macedonia hit by deadly floods in August, the ministry’s press service reports on Thursday.

The convoy will head to Macedonia from the ministry’s rescue center in Noginsk, a city outside Moscow. "It will include five vehicles that will carry mobile power plants, engine-driven pumps and foodstuffs - canned fish and meat," the press service said.

The trucks will be driven by experienced drivers, who have already taken part in missions to deliver humanitarian aid abroad, including to Ukraine’s troubled southeast.

Russia offers humanitarian aid to Macedonia at the request of its authorities and upon instructions from the Russian government.

On August 16, Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev sent a letter to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev requesting aid. This request came in response to an aid offer from the Russian Minister for Emergency Situations Vladimir Puchkov.

Overnight to August 7, a monthly norm of rain fell in Skopje and outside it within several hours, raising the water level in rivers.

More than 20 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in floods.More than 5,000 households and farms were destroyed or damaged, and about 30,000 people were affected.