President Petr Pavel today arrived in Bohumin in the Moravia-Silesia Region, for a tour to inspect the flood damage, town hall spokeswoman Jana Koncitkova told CTK. Bohumin was severely hit by floods over the weekend and is partially without electricity supplies.
Pavel visited Pudlov, a part of the town that was particularly heavily damaged.
Pavel’s spokesman Vojtech Seliga said the president had decided to visit the places affected by the floods.
“The president did not announce the trip in advance so as not to burden the rescue services that were intervening in the regions,” Seliga said. “Moreover, he is travelling without an official escort. He has no specific plan for the visit, but on the recommendation of the local mayors and municipalities, he is touring the places affected by the floods, mainly in Moravia and Silesia.”
Bohumin Mayor Petr Vicha (SOCDEM) said he had informed the president of the situation in the town. They talked about alternative accommodation for flood-hit residents and especially about the problems with electricity.
A major part of the town is without power supplies due to the flooded distribution substation in Pudlov.
“We went to the field. We showed him flats in the Cervena colony, where 24 are flooded, and we also went to Rolnicka Street, which is already passable, where people were clearing out waste. I am glad that the president is aware of the need to speed up the connection to the electricity grid as much as possible. I believe that, like the Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, who was here on Tuesday, the president will also mention this at a crisis staff meeting,” Vicha said.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) and some of his ministers also visited the Moravia-Silesia Region on Tuesday. From a helicopter, they inspected some of the places damaged by the floods, for example in the town of Opava.
