Keep our content free from ads and paywalls by making a donation to support our work!
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Residents of one of the Polish towns that was worst hit by devastating floods in September say they are still waiting for promised government aid two months later. Out of 140 applications for support in repairing damaged properties, none have yet been paid out, reports local public broadcaster TVP3 Wrocław.
The provincial governor has revealed that such payments have still not been made in most flood-affected municipalities. The government’s plenipotentiary for flood reconstruction, Marcin Kierwiński, admits that support for victims has been “insufficient” and has pledged to streamline and accelerate the process.
Ani jedno odszkodowanie na odbudowę zniszczonych mieszkań i domów w Kłodzku nie zostało wypłacone. Czekający na rządową pomoc mieszkańcy ziemi kłodzkiej są załamani i apelują o pilną reakcję władz. Relacja @FaktyTVP3 : pic.twitter.com/n2FYZKUlhp
— Fakty TVP3 Wrocław (@FaktyTVP3) November 16, 2024
Kłodzko, a town of around 25,000 near the border with the Czech Republic, was one of the first to be hit by the floods. It was there that the first of Poland’s seven reported deaths caused by the disaster occurred.
While the floods were still ongoing, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that 1 billion zloty (€231 million) had been set aside by the government to provide compensation for victims. Up to 100,000 zloty would be available for repairing a damaged apartment and up to 200,000 zloty to repair a residential building.
The government promised that the application process would be made as simple as possible and that payments would be issued as quickly as possible. However, residents of Kłodzko are still waiting.
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
Katarzyna Wrona, one of the affected residents, showed TVP3 her apartment, which remains uninhabitable after the floods.
“People don’t have anywhere to live,” she said. “I’m living on the other side of town and logistically to get to work, or for my daughter to get to school, we have a long way to go.”
“I think that this money would be very useful for us, because winter is quickly approaching,” she added.
The broadcaster also reported that town councillors have complained about how time consuming and complicated the application process is, with each damaged home needing to be visited by a special commission for assessment.
On Friday, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported that Marcin Kierwiński and the interior minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, had summoned the governors of the flood-affected Lower Silesia and Opole provinces to demand an acceleration in payments to victims.
“I am frustrated myself that it is going so slowly,” said Maciej Awiżeń, governor of Lower Silesia, in which Kłodzko is located, on Friday. He noted that only 27 municipalities out of 130 affected by the floods have so far completed any compensation processes.
On Sunday, Awiżeń and the mayor of Kłodzko, Michał Piszko, announced that they had “taken urgent action to accelerate payment” to flood victims. “Funds for the first 107 families in the amount of 10.25 million zloty will be paid out in the first days of the week,” they declared.
They also noted that over 1,000 families in the town had already received the 10,000 zloty in immediate emergency benefits offered by the government in the wake of the floods. The interior ministry shared a graphic showing that 407 million zloty in support has so far been paid to flood victims.
🔵 Osobom poszkodowanym przez powódź wypłacono już ponad 4️⃣0️⃣7️⃣ mln zł zasiłków. pic.twitter.com/fbPzGjr22h
— MSWiA 🇵🇱 (@MSWiA_GOV_PL) November 16, 2024
However, the failure to provide promised compensation to many families was criticised by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party. Mateusz Morawiecki, a former PiS prime minister, suggested that “the government has forgotten about flood victims” now that “the issue is no longer politically relevant”.
“For you, all that matters is smiling in front of the camera for a carefully planned PR image,” he declared, also accusing the main ruling party, Civic Platform (PO), of being more focused on presidential primaries than helping victims.
On Sunday, Kierwiński admitted in an interview with broadcaster RMF that “the pace of aid payments for people affected by the flood is unsatisfactory and will be accelerated”.
Bawią się w prawybory zamiast pomóc tysiącom powodzian.
Do roboty! pic.twitter.com/0hEke5BJfz— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) November 17, 2024
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Jacek Halicki/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY-SA 4.0)
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.
