Eight weeks after the flood, we return with the camera to those who were affected by the great flood and who talked to us as they fought the elements. These include villages in the Opole region. Some residents are already chipping away at the plaster and have received compensation. However, some are still waiting for the promised help.
– There is no chance for me to live at home now – says Mr. Łukasz, who only a week ago moved from a small trailer, donated by people of good will, in which he had to live after the flood.
We visited Mr. Łukasz with his camera in September, immediately after the flood. – Everything was flooded practically up to my neck when we were standing – said Mr. Łukasz then. Today, although it is difficult to revive optimism in such conditions, Mr. Łukasz does not give up and is renovating the first floor of his house.
– It will get better every day, because it has to be. (…) Every day, after work, the guys come to me and help me move in here as soon as possible. There were moments of doubt, but my friends told me not to give up, to keep moving forward, says the man.
Winter is coming, and many flood victims have not received renovation benefits. Caritas Wrocław bought coal for themJarosław Kostkowski/Fakty TVN
The inhabitants do not give up
The house of Mr. Józef, with whom we also talked in September, was cut off from the world, and the nearby bridge was completely destroyed. The 70-year-old is a single parent raising two children with disabilities. If it weren't for the help of volunteers and the army, he wouldn't even be able to go shopping until now.
– Right after the flood, this bridge wasn't here, volunteers created a replacement footbridge to bring him food, I also talked to Mr. Józef a few days ago and he said that if it weren't for the volunteers, he wouldn't have received food, no one here was prepared for such great water – emphasizes Dariusz Kozdraś, a resident of the village of Rudawa.
Bodzanów, Rudawa or Nowy Świętów – in each of these villages in the Opole Voivodeship the situation related to removing the effects of the disaster is different, but only some of the inhabitants are already renovating their houses.
– We moved to the attic, but what kind of life is this, it's vegetation – says one of the residents.
The flood destroyed the school building. A container school was openedRenata Kijowska/Fakty TVN
Residents are waiting for help from the government
After a flood that has not occurred in Poland for almost three decades, questions are being asked about payments and state aid, because winter further complicates the reconstruction and the anxiety of the victims increases with each colder day.
– There are promises for now. We have nothing, says Mrs. Małgorzata. – We are supposedly waiting for the decision, but we don't know when the funds will arrive – adds Mrs. Anna, a resident of Bodzanów in the Opole Voivodeship. – They don't care that winter is coming, I have nothing at the moment either – says Mrs. Małgorzata.
– What is most important is the payment of benefits to families, victims of this disaster – says the government's plenipotentiary for post-flood reconstruction, Marcin Kierwiński.
Kierwiński: I am assured that the process of paying benefits to flood victims will speed upTVN24
As the government representative for post-flood reconstruction emphasizes, a total of over PLN 300 million of various types of benefits have already been paid. While in some flooded towns – for example in Stronie, Lower Silesia – renovation allowances are already being paid, in others they are still waiting for approval.
– We are currently verifying and entering the application to the voivode so that you can apply for financial resources, we are at the stage of entering these applications into the application – says Zbigniew Tur, mayor of the Kłodzko commune. – There was indeed a big delay, but this was due to the fact that we had to correct the applications and the guidelines were constantly changing – says Dariusz Chromiec.
According to the procedure, each property must be inspected by a committee assessing losses. Then, municipal social welfare centers verify the applications and forward them to the voivode. And this is an ongoing process.
– I have been in flood areas in recent days and met with the directors of OPS in the most damaged towns to speed up this process. And I have strong declarations from both the Voivode of Opole and the Voivode of Lower Silesia that this process will accelerate – says Marcin Kierwiński.
Main photo source: Małgorzata Goślińska/ tvn24.pl