Flood in Poland. More counties under state of natural disaster

– Thank you for the regulation of the Council of Ministers on including additional counties in the state of natural disaster. These are the counties of Bolesławiec, Jawor, Legnica and Złotoryja – said the governor of Lower Silesia, Maciej Awiżeń, during Friday's crisis headquarters.

He recalled that the state of natural disaster currently covers “a total of 13 counties in Lower Silesia and two cities with county rights”.

– However, a recommendation to introduce a state of disaster in other counties is currently being processed. This is the Zgorzelec county, the area of ​​the city and commune of Oława, the area of ​​Sobótka, the area of ​​the commune of Kąty Wrocławskie – he said.

On Monday Council of Ministers adopted a regulation on introducing a state of natural disaster for 30 days in parts of the Lower Silesia, Opole and Silesian voivodeships. On Tuesday, the government extended the territory covered by this state to include additional counties. On Friday, another extension took place.

As explained in the justification for Friday's amendment, the Council of Ministers decided to extend the area of ​​the state of natural disaster to include four counties from the Lower Silesian Voivodeship “due to the dynamic flood situation, following the recommendation of the Lower Silesian Voivode (based on the relevant recommendation of the provincial crisis management team”.

So far, the following counties have been subject to natural disaster status: in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship – the counties of Dzierżoniów, Kamienna Góra, Karkonosze, Kłodzko, Lubań, Lwówek, Świdnik, Wałbrzych and Ząbkowice as well as the cities with county rights of Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra; in the Opole province – Brzesko, Głubczyce, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Krapkowice, Nysa, Opole and Prudnik poviats; in the Silesian Voivodeship – the counties of Bielsk, Cieszyn, Pszczyna and Racibórz and the city with county rights of Bielsko-Biała.

During Tuesday's press conference, the head Ministry of Interior and Administration Tomasz Siemoniak explained that in order to include a district or commune in a state of natural disaster, governors must submit an application to include the given areas in the regulation. He explained that the regulation will be amended “as many times as necessary”. – Perhaps excessively, but this is a regulation that allows the services to operate effectively – he stated.

A state of emergency is one of the three states of emergency provided for by the Constitution. It can be introduced “in situations of particular danger, if ordinary constitutional measures are insufficient”. Thus, according to art. 232 of the Constitution, “in order to prevent the effects of natural disasters or technical failures having the characteristics of a natural disaster and to remove them, the Council of Ministers may introduce for a specified period, no longer than 30 days, a state of emergency on part or on the entire territory of the country. This state may be extended with the consent of the Sejm”.

The introduction of a state of natural disaster allows for more efficient coordination of activities, faster removal of flood effects and better cooperation between services and institutions – we read on the gov.pl website.