2024-09-21 16:38 update: 2024-09-23, 15:13
Fot. PAP/Maciej Kulczyński
The ongoing floods in Poland have caused suffering for tens of thousands of people, and thousands of buildings and public facilities have been flooded or damaged, the head of the Prime Minister's Office has said.
On Saturday afternoon, Jan Grabiec presented a situation report at a government meeting with provincial governors in the southwestern city of Wroclaw, the capital of the region most affected by the floods that have so far killed seven and devastated or destroyed thousands of homes, damaged roads and bridges and disrupted energy and water supplies.
On Monday, the government declared a state of natural disaster in a number of areas of southern and southwestern Poland.
Grabiec said that the extraordinary measures affected some 2.4 people million living in 749 localities.
"They are mostly villages, but, of course, the number also includes towns and cities," Grabiec said.
"We're talking about a state of natural disaster here, but the next category includes the number of residents affected by the flood, those who despite the rescue and protection operations have actually suffered from the flood," Grabiec continued. "At the moment, their number is 57,000."
The number of people who had to be evacuated reached 6,544, Grabiec also said.
"When it comes to houses that have been flooded or damaged due to the flood, so far 11,502 reported buildings have been inspected," Grabiec continued. "They are both single-family houses and apartment buildings."
Grabiec also estimated the number of farm buildings damaged or destroyed by water at 6,033. Additionally, 724 public facilities have been flooded or damaged, including schools, kindergartens, sports centres, public administration buildings, as well as bridges and roads. (PAP)
jd/jch
