Jeseník – The September floods in the Czech Republic caused total damages of approximately 65 to 70 billion crowns. Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) said this today in the Czech TV program Otázky Václav Moravec. About 20 billion crowns should be paid by insurance companies, and the European Union expects a contribution of 2.5 billion crowns. The floods in September mainly affected the northern part of the Olomouc Region and the Moravian-Silesian Region, where they damaged buildings in the vicinity of waterways, transport infrastructure and caused great damage to waterways as well.
According to Stanjura, the calculation of damages changes every day, depending on how the situation in individual municipalities and regions is clarified. “We have evidence that it will be between 65 and 70 billion crowns,” said the minister.
According to Stanjura, 30 billion crowns will be spent on liquidation of flood damage from the state budget this year, another ten billion crowns are earmarked for next year.
The minister stated that the insurance companies now estimate the paid damages at approximately 20 billion crowns. According to Stanjura, one-third of this amount will go to damage to households, for which insurance companies have so far processed over 75 percent of claims. The remaining two-thirds will go from insurance companies to companies’ damages.
According to Stanjura, the state will not lack money to cover damages. After deducting the damages paid by insurance companies, around 50 billion crowns would remain, which, according to the minister, the state will not cover all by itself.
Due to the contribution from the EU Solidarity Fund, the state will send the final calculation to the European Union by December 5. According to Stanjura, according to the set rules, a contribution of approximately 2.5 billion crowns can be expected. Households and companies from flooded areas could draw additional money from operational programs in which there are tens of billions of crowns. However, it will be necessary to update the conditions for this financial assistance.
According to Stanjura, this year’s floods caused more damage to state property than in the past. While during the floods in 1997 and 2002 they accounted for roughly 25 percent of the total damage, this year it will be more. “However, some damage to state property will not be repaired this year or next year,” the minister added.
The government provided immediate cash assistance in the average amount of 40,000 crowns per household to people affected by the floods. In addition, it announced programs to secure loans or for preferential loans for companies affected by floods. It also co-financed companies to compensate them for wages for employees who could not go to work either because the company stopped operating or because they had to deal with a personal situation after the floods. The cabinet also released over half a billion crowns for the Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc Regions, which the regions will use to eliminate flood damage.
The government of the Czech Republic floods
Source: www.ceskenoviny.cz
