Tusk announces “Reconstruction Plus” plan as Odra River still a threat

Italy has also now declared a state of emergency

On this handout photo provided by the State Fire Service of Poland, firefighters inspecting safety of houses following heavy flooding in the town of Stronie Slaskie, southwestern Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Tomasz Fijołek/KG PSP via AP)
By Liz Heflin
2 Min Read

“The fight for Wroclaw, Głogów and Nowa Sól is still ongoing, but at the same time we are preparing a grand plan for Reconstruction Plus. Bridges, roads, hospitals, schools and houses, playing fields and kindergartens – everything will not only be rebuilt, but it will be better and more modern than before the flood,” Tusk wrote on Saturday evening on his profile on the X platform, reports Do Rzeczy.

Tusk emphasized the “grand scale” of this plan, as Poland faces the massive task of assessing the damage from recent, and ongoing, flooding.

Meanwhile, it looks like the Odra River may overflow its embankments, threatening the city of Głogów and instigating some residents to be asked to evacuate. Officials say the peak of the flood will be tomorrow night, i.e., from Sunday to Monday.

The head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Jan Grabiec, said yesterday that 749 localities inhabited by 2.39 million people had been affected so far. He added that 57,000 residents have been impacted by the flood and over 6,500 people have been evacuated.

Damage has included 11,502 single-family homes and multi-family buildings, 6,033 farm buildings, and 724 public utility buildings, including schools, kindergartens and sports facilities.

Italy has now also declared a 12-month state of emergency in the same regions hit by flooding from unprecedented rainfall in May 2023; that flood killed 17 people and resulted in damage estimated in the billions of euros.

Authorities have now evacuated more than 2,500 people just this week, and two people have been reported missing, according to the Do Rzeczy portal.

Meloni’s government has so far allocated €20 million for priority crisis response, rescue and assistance operations, and restoring services and infrastructure.

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