Central Europe is experiencing historic floods, causing billions of dollars in damage

Below is key information on the current situation in affected countries, estimated damage costs and government support.

Flooded area after heavy rain in Ostrava, Czech Republic, September 17. Photo: Reuters

Poland

Four provinces in southwestern Poland are under the highest level of flood warning level 3.

Poland's Defense Ministry said more than 14,000 troops have been deployed to flood-hit areas.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the damage from the floods would run into billions of zlotys. Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told a crisis meeting that 2 billion zlotys ($521 million) in funds had been secured for immediate relief.

Minister of Funds and Regional Development Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz said 1.5 billion zlotys from Poland's European Union funds will be redirected for reconstruction purposes, while another 3.5 billion zlotys could be allocated to building flood walls, reservoirs and dams.

Hungary

The highest flood levels have hit Hungary and are expected to last until September 19. Flooding is expected to be lower than the record levels recorded in 2013.

The emergency reservoir near Mosonmagyarovar has been opened, which is expected to reduce the water level on the Leitha River by 20cm.

Prevention operations are underway on a total of 544 km of rivers in Hungary, with the highest flood warning level in place over 225 km.

Nearly 4,400 people were involved in the prevention effort, including 1,288 water management staff, 1,677 soldiers, 312 police officers and 117 prisoners.

The Danube River is expected to peak at 846 cm in Budapest, below the 2013 record of 891 cm.

Czech Republic

Rising river levels affect most areas of the Czech Republic, except for some western regions.

The worst-hit areas were in the northeast, along the Polish border, in an area stretching more than 100 kilometers. Parts of the country's third-largest city, Ostrava, with a population of about 295,000, were flooded.

Flooding affected 10 square kilometers and 6,500 buildings in Opava, a city of 56,000 people located west of Ostrava.

Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said the damage could amount to around 100 billion Czech crowns ($4.44 billion), which is equivalent to about 1.25% of gross domestic product.

The initial estimate of the Czech Insurance Association (CAP) for flood damage to insured property amounts to 17 billion crowns.

Shirt

The hardest-hit area of Austria is the province of Lower Austria, which surrounds Vienna and borders the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Finance Minister Karl Nehammer said the federal disaster fund would be increased to 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) and companies severely affected by the floods would be able to defer tax payments.

Romania

Rainfall in Romania and subsequent flash floods affected dozens of villages and small towns across eight counties, with the eastern counties of Galati and Vaslui being the worst affected.

While the government is still assessing the total cost of the damage, initial estimates suggest about 6,500 homes have been damaged, affecting more than 15,000 people.

The coalition government has allocated 100 million lei ($22.37 million) to provide immediate assistance to families affected by the floods. The Galati County Council has allocated nearly 1 million lei to cover initial cleanup costs, including removing dead animals.

Romania has a mandatory home insurance scheme for natural disasters including earthquakes, floods and landslides, but the insurance group that oversees the scheme says the average insurance rates in the rural areas of Galati and Vaslui are 7% and 8% respectively, well below the national average of 23%.

Slovakia

Slovakia's Environment Minister Tomas Taraba said the Danube had peaked at nearly 10 metres and water levels would now gradually fall. He said the damage caused by flooding across the country was estimated at 20 million euros.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cac-nuoc-trung-au-dang-trai-qua-lu-lut-lich-su-thiet-hai-hang-ty-usd-post313041.html