Poland has deployed military police equipped with night vision and thermal imaging devices to protect areas evacuated due to ongoing major floods from looters. The defence minister says that anyone caught stealing from victims of the disaster “will be severely punished”.
Thousands of people have been asked to evacuate their homes in southwest Poland, the area worst hit by the floods. Yesterday, the mayor of Nysa, a city of 44,000 people, called on the entire population to leave.
The mayor of Nysa, a city in Poland's flood-hit southwest, has called on the entire population of almost 45,000 to evacuate due to the danger that a river embankment may break, sending a large wave of water through the already flooded streets https://t.co/3atqMyvyk9
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 16, 2024
Speaking to broadcaster TVN, defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that “many people are afraid that looters and thieves will come” if they evacuate their homes.
Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed that members of the military police have already joined efforts by their civilian counterparts to protect evacuated areas.
Meanwhile, in response to a video apparently showing looters stealing from a petrol station in Kłodzko, one of the towns worst-hit by the floods, Wiesław Kukuła, the chief of the general staff of the Polish army, said that soldiers equipped with night vision and thermal imaging devices had been sent to support police.
Kierujemy do wsparcia Policji żołnierzy wyposażonych w noktowizory i termowizory. Szabrownicy – noc i brak prądu nie będzie już waszym sprzymierzeńcem. https://t.co/MA4mU8NL3j
— Wiesław Kukuła (@wieslawkukula) September 16, 2024
“All those – and let this be a warning – who dare to commit shameful, heinous acts, theft against those who had to leave their homes, their businesses, will be severely punished,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told TVN.
The defence minister also appealed to people to obey evacuation orders. He noted that a state of emergency introduced by the government yesterday will also make it easier for the national authorities to issue and implement evacuation orders.
This morning, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held a further crisis meeting in the city of Wrocław. He noted that the area covered by the state of emergency will be expanded to include seven further counties that have been hit by flooding.
Tusk also said that he had received information from Brussels that “the European Union is able to support Poland with the necessary assistance in the form of additional forces, equipment and technology”.
The government has put aside 1bn zloty (€234m) to support victims of ongoing major floods in Poland.
Those affected by the disaster will each be able to claim up to 10,000 zloty in immediate aid as well as larger amounts for long-term reconstruction https://t.co/RHafrfNJxC
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 16, 2024
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Main image credit: Tomasz Pietrzyk / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
