EU chief announces $11 bn for nations hit by 'heartbreaking' floods

EU chief announces $11 bn for nations hit by 'heartbreaking' floods

In Poland, several towns and villages have been devastated by the floods

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday announced 10 billion euros ($11 billion) in funds for member nations reeling from "heartbreaking" devastation after floods caused by Storm Boris.

The death toll from the storm that struck central and eastern Europe last week rose to 24 as of Wednesday and some areas are still under threat from rising waters.

Von der Leyen spoke in the Polish city of Wroclaw alongside the leaders of four countries from the flood-hit region.

"It was for me on the one hand heartbreaking to see the destruction and the devastation through the floods," she told reporters. 

"But I must also say it was on the other hand heartwarming to see the enormous solidarity between the people in your countries," she said. 

Von der Leyen said the European Union had two sources -- cohesion funds and the solidarity fund -- that it could use to "help with funding to repair and reconstruct" the damage.

"At first sight 10 billion euros are possible to mobilise from the cohesion funds for the countries that are affected. This is an emergency reaction now," she said. 

Cohesion funds usually require co-financing from the member states but in this case von der Leyen said it would be "100 percent European money, no co-financing". 

"These are extraordinary times, and extraordinary times need extraordinary measures."

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

- 'Destroyed everything' -

In some places, the water "literally destroyed everything. The landscape is like that after a war, rather than a flood", Poland's Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak told reporters Thursday.

The EU chief met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala, Slovakia's Robert Fico and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

Tusk said that Poland would receive half of the cohesion funds announced by von der Leyen. 

Fiala said on X that the Czech Republic would receive two billion euros, adding: "That's good news."

"After the devastating floods, we will have to repair bridges, roads, schools or railway stations," he said.

Austria's share will be 500 million euros, according to Nehammer. 

"Thank you Donald Tusk for the initiative and Ursula von der Leyen for the good cooperation," he said on X.

It was unclear how much money would go to Slovakia and to Romania, whose prime minister did not attend the talks in Poland because his office said he had a defence meeting.

The talks took 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.

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

- Sandbags everywhere -

On Thursday, Tusk warned "against an atmosphere of unjustified euphoria and relief... that the worst is behind us".

But Ewa Powazka, 70-year-old pensioner in Wroclaw, was optimistic.

"There are sandbags everywhere, something we didn't have in 1997. This time, the city began to prepare a few days ago," she told AFP. "I hope it won't get flooded."

Several Polish towns and villages have been devastated by the flood waters that have demolished houses, brought down bridges and heavily damaged road and rail infrastructure.

In some areas, residents lack drinking water and electricity.

Grassroots funding initiatives have been organised across the country as local authorities begin to assess damages that could run into the hundreds of millions of euros.

The Polish government says it has unblocked 470 million euros 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.

The flooding in the Czech Republic tore down houses, disrupted road and railway traffic and caused power outages.

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