A fleet of equipment and 3 volunteer operators played an important role in the intensive recovery and clean-up work following unusually heavy rain over the 7-8 August weekend in the Liberec Region in north central Czech Republic.

The equivalent of 3 months’ rain fell in just 24 hours, resulting in widespread floods which caused severe damage to properties and infrastructure throughout the area. 

Responding immediately to the request for emergency assistance on Sunday, 8 August, from the regional fire brigade, the Doosan - Bobcat Training Center at Dobris, 45 km south of Prague, quickly dispatched that same afternoon a truck carrying a Bobcat S330 skid-steer loader, a T320 tracked loader, an E45 mini-excavator and a Doosan Portable Power light tower to the town of Chrastava, which was extensively damaged by the flood.

Bobcat compact tracked loaders and excavators are ideal for this type of emergency rescue, recovery and clean-up operations. The machines are easy to transport to site and their compact size enables them to work in even the most confined spaces including narrow streets and alleyways. The rubber tracks on the compact tracked loaders and mini-excavators provide excellent traction and flotation on soft-ground conditions and do not damage the paved areas they pass over.

Dobris is home to the Product Development Center, the Doosan - Bobcat Compact Equipment Manufacturing Plant and the state-of-the-art Training Center next to the plant. With the plant still on summer shutdown over the first weekend in August, the fast response to the emergency aid request was coordinated by a support team from the Product Development and Training Centers led by Jaroslav Fiser, Arnaud Gabarre and Stanislav Foukner.