The greatest losses in terms of infrastructure were suffered by Water Polish. They will be counted in billions of zlotys – said Dariusz Klimczak from the Ministry of Infrastructure at a press conference on Wednesday. – When it comes to road infrastructure, according to preliminary calculations by GDDKiA, losses reached at least PLN 155 million. But these losses are still being estimated, in many sections it is not yet possible or is still ongoing. When it comes to rail infrastructure, we are at an even later stage in estimating losses. However, they amount to at least PLN 125 million – he added.
As Klimczak continued, the next step will be to estimate the losses of individual carriers. As for PKPat the initial stage the losses amount to PLN 100 million.
How much will the losses be? Billions of złoty in Polish Waters and GDDKiA
There will be time for specific estimates. However, we can compare the situation to previous floods. The PLN 155 million in losses that GDDKiA currently estimates will almost certainly increase significantly. In 2010, during the last major flood, losses on the national road network alone were estimated at over PLN 900 million – on provincial roads it was around PLN 500 million. The Polish Road Congress reported that the total value of damage related to road infrastructure reached PLN 4.2 billion at that time.
In the flood of 1997, the losses were estimated at PLN 9 billion, which was an underestimate, because the actual total losses amounted to approximately PLN 12 billion – Economic Observer reminds. 680 thousand apartments, 4 thousand bridges, 613 kilometers of flood embankments and 500 thousand hectares of crops were damaged. 12 billion zlotys at that time constituted 2.7 percent of GDP. However, compared to budget expenditures, which in 1997 amounted to 125.6 billion zlotys, flood-related losses constituted as much as 9.5 percent of total state expenditures.
The government has announced aid for flood victims. How much will they receive?
Each flood victim is entitled to immediate emergency aid of PLN 10,000. In addition, it will be possible to obtain up to PLN 100,000 for renovation, and up to PLN 200,000 for house reconstruction, non-refundable.
In addition, the Ministry of Climate and Environment will allocate PLN 21 million to aid local governments. Local governments will be able to obtain another PLN 100 million in low-interest loans.
More information coming soon, article updated