Poland's recovery from Storm Boris: Is the EU prepared for more and more floods?

euronews (in English)

Floods are the most common and most costly natural disasters in Europe. They are becoming more frequent due to climate change. What is Europe doing to anticipate and limit the damage?

Transcript

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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