Three months after the flood in southern Poland, the most important thing is to help people rebuild their homes and prepare for the coming winter of their lives, perhaps the most difficult in these conditions. But now we also need to indicate those places where another such disaster is inevitable and building anything would be too risky.
Even though several months have passed, Mr. Andrzej is still struggling with the effects of the great September flood. But it's not the wet walls that worry him most. – The only thing that scares me is that the river is too close – admits Mr. Andrzej, a resident of Krosnowice.
It is only a dozen or so meters away from the river. – We don't know what the winter will be like, how the groundwater will rise, how the river will rise. I'm not saying that it will flood us like it flooded us, but there will be flooding, he emphasizes.
Marcin Kierwiński on the payment of benefits to flood victimsTVN24
Flooding and future flooding are unfortunately certain in many areas. Hence the idea of creating “red zones” that would be uninhabited and from which it would be possible to resettle.
– This infrastructure, which is completely destroyed, i.e. it is a construction disaster now and is in red zones according to the nomenclature of Polish Waters, these should be the elements that should be subject to voluntary purchases first. I emphasize: voluntary – said Marcin Kierwiński, government plenipotentiary for post-flood reconstruction, at the conference.
Entrepreneurs feel abandoned by the state
This is one of the topics discussed by MPs from the extraordinary committee for flood protection measures, which met today in Kłodzko. – We are here to check and verify the law that we are enacting in the meantime. We have already made two corrections to the act – says Marek Chmielewski, MP from the Civic Coalition.
A lot of words are said about entrepreneurs, mainly as self-praise. – We have met these expectations by preparing in various ministries, including the Ministry of Development and Technology, benefits and instruments intended to improve and enable the return to normal activities and business activities – says Michał Jaros, MP from the Civic Coalition.
Unfortunately, the reality for many entrepreneurs is slightly different and it is mainly them who feel abandoned by the state today.
– Neither two thousand nor eight thousand. We are here to pay taxes and fend for ourselves. We don't get any help. Even in building materials – notes Mrs. Krystyna, an entrepreneur from Stronie Śląskie.
And this may mean the end of the business. – There is no money that would be sufficient to restore people's businesses and lives. This is crazy hard. We try to react on an ongoing basis and talk to entrepreneurs – says Marcin Kierwiński.
Minister Kierwiński mentions exemption from ZUS for five months and an increase in the benefit limit to PLN 200,000. And it promises more.
Main photo source: TVN24