Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski went to the village of Sipkovica near Tetovo, which was devastated by the flash flood ten days ago. Gruevski was accompanied by Government members tasked with providing assistance in the clean-up effort, Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Pesevski, Defense Minister Zoran Jolevski and Transportation minister Vlado Misajlovski.

"We will continue to round the clock until all the damage caused by the flood is fully repaired. As we promised, electricity was restored the day after the flood, and the village also received the necessary amounts of potable water", Gruevski said, while talking with the people of Sipkovica about their further needs and priorities.

The Government provided for initial financial assistance of 30.000 denars (about 500 EUR) to the families whose home were damaged in the flash floods, in Sipkovica and further downstream in the areas of Mala and Golema Recica, Poroj... Farmers whose crops were washed away will also be reimbursed by 26 August, Gruevski added. A number of cities across Macedonia and neighbouring countries also contributed to help those who were affected.

Pesevski said that he expects the school in Sipkovica to be cleaned up, disinfected and prepared for the start of the school year in two weeks. According to Defense Minister Jolevski, the army rotates teams of 10 men in Sipkovica, Poroj and Recica to continue helping the clean-up.

"Professor Sonja Lepitkova and a group of experts and villagers from Sipkovica visited the sites that are considered to have contributed to the flooding. An initial estimated called for mining a rock that is believed to be a potential danger, but experts agreed to take time to better analyze the situation", Gruevski said.

Municipal representative Zekiria Qazimi said the village is grateful for the assistance provided after the floods, but that much work needs to be done to prepare for the winter, and in prevention of further floods.

"If we can't make a proper estimate of the cause of the problem, we might face a worsening situation, given that winter is coming and we are yet to see more rain", Qazimi said. Sipkovica is a large mountainous village on the Shar Mountain, right above Tetovo. Six persons, four of them children, were killed in the flood that was sparked by a torrential downpour that quickly turned dry river beds into roaring rivers in the deforested mountain slopes. Government representatives also saw Laurat Ismaili, a young boy who was plucked from the torrents, to hear a first hand account of flood.