Flood-Hit Leaders To Meet In Poland For EU Aid Talks

AFP/APP

Poland: The leaders of four countries hit by Storm Boris will meet Thursday in Poland with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss aid for the flood-hit region.

The death toll from the storm, which hit central and eastern Europe in recent days, rose to 24 on Wednesday, and some areas are still under threat from rising waters.

Strong wind and heavy rains struck the region last week, killing five people in Austria, seven in Poland, seven in Romania, and five people in the Czech Republic.

In some places, the water “literally destroyed everything. The landscape is like that after a war, rather than a flood,” Polish Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak told reporters on Thursday.

The meeting of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala, Slovakia’s Robert Fico, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, and von der Leyen will take place in Wroclaw, a historic city of 670,000 people in southwest Poland.

Struck by devastating floods in 1997, residents of Wroclaw had become increasingly concerned as the waters rose. They reached their peak early Thursday.

While the water level is lower than it was in 1997, dams could be at risk if the high water lasts for several days.

On Thursday, Tusk warned during a crisis meeting in Wroclaw “against an atmosphere of unjustified euphoria and relief… that the worst is behind us.” But Wroclaw pensioner Ewa Powazka, 70, was optimistic.

“There are sandbags everywhere, something we didn’t have in 1997. This time, the city began to prepare a few days ago,” Ewa told. “I hope it won’t get flooded.”

‘Even better coordination’

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will not be present at the meeting as he cancelled all his international engagements this week because of the storm — even though his country has for now not been badly affected. Romania’s prime minister will also be absent because of a defence meeting.

Fiala said on X on Wednesday that the leaders would discuss the possibilities for European financial aid to the Czech Republic and other countries in central Europe.

Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson Arianna Podesta told reporters that von der Leyen will visit the area at risk in Wroclaw to assess the situation created by the recent heavy floods and rains that have hit Poland. “She will discuss the actions taken by the authorities to respond to this crisis,” she added.

Austria’s Nehammer stated, “We must use and expand the instruments that have been created for disasters like this. I will call in Poland for the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.” The Czech Republic has already requested the activation of the mechanism to receive aid. Nehammer said the summit would also discuss an even better coordination of flood protection measures.

In Poland, several towns and villages have been devastated by the flood waters, which have demolished houses, brought down bridges, and heavily damaged road and rail infrastructure. In some areas, residents still lack drinking water and electricity.

Grassroots funding initiatives have been organised across the country as local authorities begin to assess damage, which could run into the hundreds of millions.

The Polish government says it has unblocked 470 million euros (two billion zloty, over $520 million) of direct aid to people and localities affected by the floods. Austria has said its disaster relief fund will be increased to one billion euros to help flood victims.