Today's cabinet meeting focused on the situation in south-western Poland following the floods. During the public part, Prime Minister Donald Tusk asked ministers to present the activities of their respective ministries and to propose specific measures. 

“I would like to see all cabinet meetings during the disaster and immediate recovery starting with a concrete report to be disseminated as soon as possible,” 

the Prime Minister explained. 

The second part of the meeting of the Council of Ministers was devoted to the draft law amending the law on special measures concerning flood relief. 

“We have a hundred pages of amendments that will improve the existing law, making it easier and more flexible," 

Donald Tusk announced. 

The government will be able to secure up to 23 billion PLN - including EU funds - for the Rebuilding+ scheme. 

“Securing funding for the aid and the upcoming rebuilding envisaged for the coming months and years was extremely important, especially seeing how many of these projects will take many years," 

the Prime Minister said. 

The government remains directly involved in overseeing operations in the affected areas - an emergency headquarters meeting will be held in Wrocław later this afternoon. 

The Minister of the Interior and Administration was the first to present information during the meeting. Tomasz Siemoniak stressed that the State Fire Service, together with the military, are currently focusing on two objectives. The first is to ensure safety with regards to the flood surge on the Oder River. 

“We are moving forces and resources, helicopters and all sorts of equipment to ensure that all areas at risk are covered - especially where the river might back up and flood the area, where there is the risk of embankments leaking, or water pouring over,” 

the Minister noted. 

The second priority is to support residents in the process of restoring normalcy in the affected municipalities. 

“We are doubling down and remain committed to this goal. As far as the Ministry forces are concerned, there are around 25,000 professional firefighters, volunteer firefighters and police officers at our disposal,” 

said Tomasz Siemoniak. 

The police continue to ensure the safety of residents in flooded areas, including guarding their property against looters, manning mobile police stations and providing psychological support. 

The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime is also working around the clock, focusing on combating disinformation and fraudulent fundraisers. 

“I urge everybody to follow our releases and to check whether the advertised fundraisers are real or fraudulent. We are doing our best to shut them down,” 

the Minister pointed out, highlighting the important issue. 

The Ministry of the Interior and Administration is working with voivodes in terms of payment of benefits for those affected. Nearly 20,000 families have already received aid. The support is also organised by the Government Strategic Reserve Agency, which has earmarked 12 million PLN for aid and offers temporary housing, among other help. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that the armed forces have been involved in the relief operation from the very beginning - from the army, through the navy, air force, special forces and the Territorial Defence Forces. 

“The military focuses on helping and evacuating the population, as well as protecting life and health of the people. The other focus is on securing the embankments, reinforcing them as the flood waters move downstream. The third key area of focus concerns clean-up efforts, as well as clearing roads,” 

the Minister of Defence listed. 

The military was also involved in the organisation of the field hospital in Nysa and the disinfection process.  

Additionally, Operation Phoenix was launched on 23 September. 

“We immediately launched another operation - Operation Phoenix aimed at restoring normalcy and rebuilding the communities. We want to make sure that whatever is rebuilt will be better than the destroyed infrastructure,” 

the Minister announced. 

The operation is planned to run until at least the end of the year. Soldiers will be present in the affected areas until the disaster relief operation is over. The cost of Operation Phoenix is estimated to reach 175 million PLN. 

Poland’s partners in NATO and the EU are offering their help, including engineering teams to support rebuilding bridges and roads. 

“This is the same solidarity that Poland has always shown to countries in need,” 

the Minister of Defence noted. 

Prime Minister Donald Tusk thanked for sharing the information about offers of international assistance. 

“Doing good always pays, sometimes in unexpected ways. We helped the Turks, we helped the Swedes not so long ago. We helped the Greeks during the wildfires. Today the Swedes are sending us dehumidifiers, the Turks and Germans want to build bridges...” 

Poland will accept offers of support wherever it is deemed useful. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski outlined the measures taken by his ministry to establish satellite communications. 160 Starlink terminals were delivered to the State Fire Service and the Police received 70 terminals. 

The Ministry is also working with mobile network operators to ensure that people in the affected areas have access to cellular networks. 

“We have gone from tens of thousands of people being cut off from cellular connectivity to less than a thousand," 

Krzysztof Gawkowski noted.

Audits have been launched to facilitate developing solutions aimed at preventing similar communication breakdowns in the future. 

The ministry is working with the police to combat disinformation. Recently, there has been an uptick in hostile Russian and Belarusian activities. 80-90% of fake news are removed immediately after publication. 

Another important step was the addition of flood alerts in the MObywatel app, which allow residents to quickly learn about the situation in their area. Information for citizens is also provided via the government-run website powodz2024.gov.pl. 

Together with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the Minister of Digital Affairs decided to donate 16,000 laptops to children in the affected areas. 

Minister Dariusz Klimczak reported that all the roads in Lower Silesia are fully operational. The situation is worse in the Opole Voivodeship. The Minister outlined the efforts aimed at rebuilding the bridge in Głuchołazy. 

A section of the Kłodzko Główne - Kłodzko Miasto railway line is still impassable.  

“We anticipate that the section will be ready by 30 September,” 

Dariusz Klimczak claimed. 

Some sections still require diversions. We urge travellers to read the latest information provided by carriers. 

The Minister of Infrastructure also shared data concerning water levels, meteorological and hydrological warnings and reservoir status. He noted the hydrological warnings concerning third-degree surges for the Lubuskie, West Pomeranian, Lower Silesian and Greater Poland Voivodeships. 

Minister Andrzej Domański noted that his ministry had secured 2 billion PLN in the state budget for the most urgent support, aid and measures linked to combating the effects of the floods and that work was underway to find additional funds.  

“We continuously issue decisions releasing funds to the voivodes, including for the flood benefits. We are also working with the local government representatives to provide direct assistance to the affected municipalities. We have 738 million PLN of reserve funds available for this purpose. The distribution of these funds will be decided jointly with the local governments,” 

Andrzej Domański reported. 

The support is available to borrowers, whose mortgages will be paid by the state for a year, as well as companies, who can request a tax break. 

The Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy conducted a comprehensive review of the Cohesion Funds in accordance with the Prime Minister's instructions.  

“We can move more than 10 billion PLN for reconstruction and resilience purposes,” 

Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz informed. 

Her ministry is developing a new priority within the Cohesion Funds, focused on rebuilding the flooded areas and ensuring resilience for the future. 

“We will use these funds for energy infrastructure, water and sewerage infrastructure, roads, as well as to support private beneficiaries in terms of rebuilding homes that were damaged in the floods,” 

the Minister enumerated. 

Local government officials from the affected areas are actively participating in the process. 

The Ministry of Climate, which is headed by Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska, keeps a close eye on the status of environmental infrastructure and groundwater. The State Geological Service has announced a hydrogeological emergency in the Lower Silesian and Opole Voivodeships for 17-30 September, as well as the southern parts of the Lubuskie and Greater Poland Voivodeships. 

The Ministry of Climate and Environment has earmarked resources and shifted focus to the affected areas, significantly reducing the number of households without energy.  

“There are still 1,738 customers without access to electricity. At the worst moment, there were 80,000 such households. The situation remains particularly dire in Lower Silesia," 

Paulina Hennig-Kloska informed. 

At the request of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Council of Ministers adopted an amendment to the regulation concerning the state of natural disaster, which will facilitate the removal of waste from flood-affected areas. The Ministry also released grants to local authorities, facilitating the purchase of generators, pumps, dehumidifiers and other equipment. 

Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, outlined the activities of her ministry. 

“While the ministries and the authorities directly involved in the disaster response are doing their best to limit the extent of the damage, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is focusing on the places where the waters are subsiding, as the residents of the flooded areas need immediate, urgent social and financial assistance,” 

Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk noted.. 

The total funds paid out amount to 100,409,000 PLN and the grand total continues to grow. 

The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has made it easier for the disaster victims to access aid by simplifying the forms. The request can be verbal, and the whole process can be carried out during a single meeting. Social workers often reach out to the victims themselves.  

Prime Minister Donald Tusk thanked Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk for her initiative to introduce a paid leave for people cleaning the homes of their loved ones. 

“It helps in a rather significant way. Anyone who gets involved and gives up their time, who does not work, but rather helps their loved ones, their family with drying, cleaning, pumping water and so on, should be able to count on state support," 

the Prime Minister noted.

A provision for this form of assistance will be included in the draft law developed by the government.