The government estimates the total damage after the September floods at 45 to 50 billion crowns. More than half of all damage is to state property, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) told journalists today. Damages amounting to tens of billions are in the Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc regions, an order of magnitude lower in other parts of the country. Due to the floods, the government increased this year’s state budget deficit by 30 billion crowns and the planned budget deficit for next year by 10 billion crowns. According to Stanjura, it turns out that the amount is reasonable.
In the Moravian-Silesian region, according to a preliminary estimate, the floods caused damage worth 20 to 30 billion crowns, in Olomouc for 15 to 20 billion crowns, Stanjura said. In the Zlín region, damages of one billion crowns are reported, from other regions affected by floods in the order of hundreds of millions of crowns.
The government must send the total amount of damages to the European Commission by December 5, so that the Czech Republic can draw money for the restoration of the territory from the European solidarity fund. According to Stanjura, it is already certain that the damages will exceed 40 billion crowns, which is a necessary condition for the use of European money.
The minister also pointed out that the government will use national resources to help entrepreneurs affected by the floods. According to him, the use of money from the European Union would be more complicated. “There are restrictive conditions for European money, aid would not go to everyone who deserves help,” Stanjura said.
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-finances companies with wage compensation for employees who cannot go to work either because the business has stopped operating or because they have 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.
Source: www.tyden.cz
