The crisis management team’s meeting was attended by Prime Minister Morawiecki, as well as Mr Łukasz Kmita, Małopolskie Voivodeship Governor, and Mr Marek Pęk, Deputy Speaker of the Senate.

“At the morning meeting, we received meteorological and hydrological reports; then we met with local government officials. Our meeting focused on issues related to flood protection investment projects, as well as infrastructure development”, Prime Minister Morawiecki explained.

Discussions with local government officials on preventing weather anomalies

The Myślenice county was hit the hardest by last weekend’s storms and downpours. The Nowy Sącz region and the Tarnów and Kraków counties were also strongly affected. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited the Małopolskie Voivodeship on Sunday to meet with the residents, local government officials and Voivodeship authorities.

“It is beyond doubt that I would only ever like to meet Małopolska’s local government officials under good circumstances”, said PM Morawiecki. “We have held talks with the local government representatives on how to prevent such weather anomalies instead of simply addressing their impact. This particularly concerns the possibility of retaining excess water, i.e. building new water reservoirs. Our government has the funding needed to implement various projects. The Polish Deal programme ensures the construction of retention reservoirs for local governments throughout Poland. We will also introduce systemic incentives and facilitate the creation of ponds and watercourses in rural areas. Such solutions are bound to quickly bring a positive effect for the microclimate”, he added.

Government to aid with housing reconstruction

On Saturday night into Sunday, several of Małopolska’s counties were hit by storms. They caused a rapid increase in watercourse levels, resulting in flash floods that damaged numerous buildings and roadways. During his visit to Małopolska, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki promised rapid help for the inhabitants of the affected areas. Importantly, the support is to cover not only the removal of flood damage but also the reconstruction of residential buildings.

“I hope that we will quickly help the people in their reconstruction efforts”, said PM Mateusz Morawiecki. “The building supervision inspector has assured me that the buildings in which the residents have opted to stay are not at risk of collapse. I would also like to thank the Governor for taking quick action, including the disbursement of government funding and estimation of damage”, he added.

Małopolska’s economic development

After receiving reports from the crisis management team, representatives of local and state authorities talked about the new investment projects to be implemented in the Małopolskie Voivodeship. This is part of the Prime Minister’s efforts to ensure continuous quality of life improvements for all areas of Poland.

“The second part of the meeting with local government officials concerned economic development and infrastructure projects to make Małopolska an even better place to live”, Prime Minister Morawiecki explained. “I am happy with Małopolska’s successes. Although today we focus on minimising the impact of flooding, tomorrow we wish to focus on capitalising on the economic situation to support Małopolska’s local governments, entrepreneurs and all other Poles who live in this extraordinarily beautiful Voivodeship”, he added.