The State Commission for Damage Assessment from Natural Disasters concluded on Wednesday that the 20 million kuna secured in the state budget for damage compensation is by no means sufficient to cover the reported 2.3 billion kuna in damages so far, and will therefore request an increase in the budget for this purpose from the Government, while also appealing to citizens to insure their property.
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From January 1 to September 18, 2017, 2.3 billion kuna in damages were reported in the register of damages from natural disasters, and all counties except Istria County reported damages, said the commission president Josip Križanić (HDZ), noting that these figures do not include damages caused by recent floods in Zadar County.
Given the large number of reported damages, it is necessary to determine which damages will have priority, Križanić said, noting that the possibility of compensating agricultural damages from the European Rural Development Program and from the budgets of relevant ministries should also be considered.
By September 18, damages from storm hurricane winds were reported at 26 million kuna, from fires at 498 million kuna, from floods at 23 million kuna, from droughts at 960 thousand kuna, from hail at 171 million kuna, and from frost at 692 million kuna, he enumerated.
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The Commission therefore concluded that it will request the relevant ministries to submit proposals for models to mitigate damages incurred during 2017 within a month, and from the Government to consider increasing funds for compensation for damages from natural disasters.
– It is impossible to secure that amount in the state budget. How will we determine priorities when the figures are clear and concrete, asked Marko Vešligaj (SDP).
Anka Mrak Taritaš (GLAS) believes that a new Law on Natural Disasters should be drafted as soon as possible to regulate the methodology for reporting and compensating damages.
– The majority of the available 20 million will be related to agriculture, and therefore the message to citizens must be to insure their property, she stated.
Other commission members also agreed that citizens should be encouraged to insure real estate, family farms, agricultural land…
Josip Đakić (HDZ) believes that priority in the distribution of the 20 million kuna should be given to those who cannot draw funds under the European Rural Development measure.
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State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Marija Vučković reported that under measure 5.2.1 of the Rural Development Program, which relates to the restoration of agricultural land and the restoration of production potential for farmers affected by natural disasters, a total of 223 million kuna is available, and so far 6 million kuna has been contracted.
