00:00I wouldn't call it a flood, it was just a cataclysm.
00:07I'm in Londestru.
00:09This town in the south-west of Poland
00:11is one of the most affected areas by the floods of last September.
00:21The Borys storm left a trail of death and devastation
00:25here in Poland and in much of Central Europe.
00:28There have been 30 deaths, 9 in Poland.
00:36Floods are the most common and expensive natural disasters in Europe.
00:41They are more and more frequent due to climate change
00:44and experts say the situation is destined to worsen.
00:51What does Europe do to prevent and limit damage?
00:55We'll talk about it in the European Stories.
00:58EUROPEAN STORIES
01:03In the last 30 years,
01:04floods have affected 5.5 million people in the European Union,
01:09causing 3,000 deaths and more than 170 billion euros in damage.
01:17The Union has various mechanisms to support Member States.
01:25When an emergency occurs,
01:26the first response of Europe to disasters
01:29is the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
01:32It organises and coordinates an emergency response
01:35between all the EU countries and 10 other Member States.
01:40Since 2001, it has intervened more than 700 times.
01:44The Reserve for Emergency Aid
01:46provides a rapid financial response to all types of emergencies.
01:51The Union's Solidarity Fund
01:53offers a long-term financial support.
01:56Since 2002, it has allocated more than 8.2 billion euros.
02:00Floods are the most financed event.
02:10Here in Poland,
02:11floods have hit about 750 villages and towns.
02:16More than 6,500 people have been evacuated.
02:19The number of damaged houses has been more than 11,500.
02:26On 15 September 2024,
02:28it will not be forgotten in the south-west of Poland.
02:32The dam at Monte delle Cittadine d'Istronie and Ladek Zdrój
02:35has collapsed after days of torrential rain.
02:40An investigation is underway into the collapse of the structure,
02:43which was built at the beginning of the 20th century.
02:45Another dam, not far from it, has not survived.
02:50THE LAND OF THE TORN
02:51THE LAND OF THE TORN
02:52THE LAND OF THE TORN
02:54THE LAND OF THE TORN
02:56I met Zbigniew in the countryside around Ladek Zdrój.
03:01He was collecting the few things that could be saved
03:04in the house of his parents-in-law,
03:05who had lived in this house for over 30 years.
03:12Here, water under the ceiling.
03:15Here was the kitchen.
03:18Here were the furniture on the wall.
03:20There was a mother-in-law's bedroom.
03:23And this wall, simply under the influence of water,
03:27was in the garage.
03:31So there was nothing left of the kitchen.
03:41After two days, you could just leave here.
03:45Because the view was tragic.
03:48It's hard to describe.
03:53When I look at the photos from the war in Ukraine,
03:56it's the same, but they don't shoot.
04:01The September disaster reminded Zbigniew
04:04of the floods of the millennium,
04:06which hit Poland in 1997.
04:09There were more than 50 deaths at the time.
04:12This year, the entity of the damage in some areas was similar.
04:20The flood was three times.
04:22It destroyed this house in such a state
04:24that they had to rebuild it three times.
04:27This year's flood has already hit them hard.
04:32So they'd rather not come back here.
04:35It's just that the age doesn't allow for strength.
04:39The flood protection systems
04:41were reinforced in Poland after the great flood of 1997.
04:45It was the turning point in crisis management
04:48and civil protection in the country.
04:51Today, more reports say that the reduction of the risk
04:54in the event of a flood requires even more effort.
04:57The priorities are focused on large infrastructures,
05:00while local solutions on a small scale
05:02need to be enhanced.
05:05After the flood in 1997,
05:07there was a flood zone.
05:09New buildings couldn't be built.
05:11They had to be repaired on old foundations.
05:14If a building was damaged,
05:16it could be rebuilt,
05:18and that's what they did in this state.
05:29There were supposed to be retention tanks,
05:32smaller protests,
05:34one for, one against.
05:36They're coming back to that.
05:38Maybe four or five of them
05:40need to be built
05:42to keep it safe.
05:44But it's still...
05:57The residents of the Polish cities
05:59devastated by the September floods
06:01don't have a clear vision
06:03of how Europe is acting
06:05in their support.
06:07I asked the spokesman for the European Green Deal
06:10to explain the role of Europe
06:12in the event of natural disasters
06:14such as floods.
06:32Approximately 6.5 billion
06:34has been allocated for the prevention
06:36or management of floods and landslides.
06:38Poland has earmarked
06:40around 2.9 billion
06:42for preventing and managing
06:44climate-related risks
06:46under the current period.
06:48That's a big chunk of money.
06:50But how is all this money used
06:52and how does the EU monitor
06:54the way it's spent?
06:56An extremely important principle
06:58to bear in mind
07:00is the member states
07:02that use the money.
07:04Commission and the member states
07:06agree on programmes,
07:08on the priorities for funding.
07:10We call this in cohesion policy
07:12shared management.
07:14It makes total sense
07:16because the member states
07:18are a much better place
07:20to know which organisations
07:22require which type of funding.
07:24We make sure that funds
07:26are made available
07:28to the member states
07:30by modifying the policies
07:32of European intervention.
07:34Adaptation requires time
07:36and resources,
07:38but it's not just a matter
07:40of funds.
07:42It also depends on the effectiveness
07:44of the instruments
07:46of national and local governments.
07:48We can't prevent
07:50extreme events
07:52from affecting our cities,
07:54but we can limit the damage.
08:00For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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