Polish Government under Pressure over Floods

As Poland faces its worst flooding in more than a century, the upcoming presidential election is the last thing on people’s minds.

Around 42,000 people have been affected, and more than 12,000 houses are flooded in the worst hit province of Podkarpacie.

[Tadeusz Kocon, Mayor of Janowiec Town]:                        
„Five hundred people have lost parts of their properties and 150 houses were damaged. They are flooded. Once we have a chance to enter the houses we will be able to judge the level of loss.“

One resident describes how the waters hit his property.

[Woijciech Macioszek, Resident]:
„The whole yard and the foundations of the house were flooded. The level of the water is going up. The water is not flowing in the normal way; it doesn’t come from the river but from the forests. It’s an absolute tragedy. The house is flooded from both sides.“

Up to 20 people have died so far since Polish rivers began bursting their banks in early May following heavy rainfall.

After a brief respite in late May, fresh rainfall last week again swelled Poland’s rivers, including its longest, the Vistula.

Many Warsaw schools were shut on Tuesday as a precaution. The Vistula burst its banks in two areas further downstream earlier in the day.

Thousands of emergency workers have been toiling for days to fortify flood defenses along the Vistula ahead of another ‚wave‘ that is expected to hit Warsaw early on Wednesday.

A majority of Poles believe the government is wrong not to have declared a state of natural disaster during the floods, according to an opinion poll.

The floods have forced the government to postpone the elections on June 20.

The top presidential candidates are acting President Bronislaw Komorowski and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of the late president Lech Kaczynski.

Foto: NTDTV