Latvia, Legislation, Real Estate, Transport

The Daugavpils City Council and Regional Council, as well as the Ogre and Plavinas Regional Councils had requested the government to declare a state of emergency to help tackle the flood problems in their regions.

Defense Minister Artis Pabriks (Unity), who is currently serving as acting prime minister, told members of the press last night after the two-hour long emergency Saeima meeting that declaring a state of emergency is a very serious decision that threatens the whole country's security. ''Listening to the local government leaders, we came to the conclusion that we can ensure the necessary support without declaring a state of emergency,'' Pabriks said.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (Reform Party) said that the responsible services are on high-alert and monitoring the situation, and that they are ready to react if necessary.

As reported, Environmental Protection and Regional Development Minister Edmunds Sprudzs (Reform Party) previously said that he wants to see an emergency Cabinet meeting called in order to declare a state of emergency in regard to the flood problems that have hit the country this past week.

The minister was convinced of declaring a state of emergency after visiting flood-hit territories of the Daugava River yesterday, where he came to the conclusion that the situation is very serious and a state of emergency must be declared as soon as possible.

According to the minister, declaring a state of emergency will allow the responsible institutions to better organize their work, obtain necessary equipment, allocate more funding for rescue operations, and involve the National Armed Forces and State Fire and Rescue Service rescuers from other areas of the country.