Rebuilding the areas affected by the devastating floods will take months or years, and the government should help municipalities significantly, including financially, Czech President Petr Pavel told Czech Television yesterday after visiting northern Moravia and Silesia.
The President saw the damage caused by the flood in the towns of Bohumin, Opava, Krnov, Mikulovice and Jesenik.
“The government will need to sit down with mayors and governors and have a serious discussion about how to significantly help the most affected towns and villages. Because the budgets that are in place now certainly won’t pay for the damage,” he said.
PM Petr Fiala (ODS) said the Czech state would spend tens of billions of crowns on the reconstruction of the flood-affected areas, with additional money coming from municipal and regional sources, collections or insurance companies. He added that an amendment to the state budget would likely be necessary.
Fiala said the government had set up a group, led by Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura (ODS), to deal with financing the reconstruction after the flooding, and it will discuss the issue on Thursday.
Outlining the priorities of this group before the cabinet meeting, Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny (KDU-CSL) said the state “has to ensure the reconstruction of basic infrastructure such as roads, railways, water supply, waste disposal and so on.”
Fiala estimated that the total damage would be around CZK 100 billion, though he stressed that it is too early to make a final estimate because not all the water in the flooded areas has yet receded. Fiala expects the state’s share in the reconstruction to be around 25%, totalling tens of billions of crowns.
The amount of money needed for the restoration of public property should be known within weeks.
President Pavel said municipalities also need help in organising the regional and Senate elections that will be held on Friday and Saturday. The Interior Ministry said yesterday that it is counting on providing support.
Demolition work needs to be carried out quickly in the affected areas, but if mayors were to follow the current regulations, it would take a long time, Pavel noted. Therefore, he said, the mayors would welcome if tenders for contractors could be simplified.
Pavel said he appreciated the solidarity between people. Not only neighbours, but also mayors and governors, regardless of political affiliation, are helping each other, he said. In some places, he noted, people from the other side of the country had arrived to help with the clean-up.
The President arrived in Bohumin this morning, but did not announce his trip in advance. His spokesman Vojtech Seliga said Pavel had decided to visit the places affected by the flood. “He did not announce his trip in advance so as not to burden the rescue services that are intervening in the regions. Moreover, he is travelling without an official escort,” the spokesman said.
The President later said he wanted to see the situation for himself and talk to the people affected by the floods. “We didn’t want a prepared programme,” he explained.
Bohumin Mayor Petr Vicha (SOCDEM) said the president saw the situation in the town, and they discussed alternative accommodation for the flooded residents and especially the problems with electricity. A large part of the town is without electricity due to a flooded substation.
On Tuesday, Fiala and some of his ministers visited the Moravia-Silesia Region, viewing some of the places damaged by the flood from a helicopter, including Opava.
