On Thursday evening, three weeks ago, a tornado devastated several villages. When you compare the situation in the first days and now, how do you evaluate it?
I was positively surprised by the speed at which the rubble disappeared. On the other hand, there is a sad view of the streets, where there are only a few houses and the others are demolished.
–
You’ve been there for an hour after the disaster. What was going through your head at that moment?
I was in Moravská Nová Ves and I must say that I thought there would be dozens and hundreds of victims. There were times when crying people in shock got into the cars and drove off.
–
It was like a war. The next day it dawned, it still looked awful. But the first hours I have associated with strong emotions and a lot of it on me
fell.
–
Dozens and hundreds of firefighters and soldiers still help in the affected villages. How much longer will they be in place?
Their main task is to remove damage and demolish damaged objects. But once the demolition ends, they will no longer be able to be there.
–
They can’t be there to help build houses. This turning point when they leave will be annoying. People may perceive it as state aid leaving them. But they really can’t stay there.
–
It can already be seen that the bustle, reminiscent of the anthill in the first days, is gradually calming down. So when does the breaking point occur?
There is more peace in the centers of the villages, big work is done. For example, in Moravská Nová Ves it was head to head, now the traffic there is completely calm. Firefighters are gradually being recalled and this is a natural development. And in about ten days, it will happen that really all firefighters and equipment will leave. There will be about a hundred soldiers left and they will leave in another two weeks. It will be a kind of psychological break.
–
Looking back on the past three weeks, did you think you could have done something different?
Probably the most difficult decision to date is that we needed to say the first weekend so that no more volunteers would go. It was chaos, firefighters said it was necessary to declare it, because heavy equipment could not move through the villages, one container with the village intertwined half an hour there and half an hour back, while it needed to commute quickly.
–
It was a difficult communication point that I had to take on. At the same time, however, we said that on weekdays after and then another extended weekend, volunteers will be needed. Instead, it is still spreading through social networks that the governor is expelling volunteers, which is nonsense. I don’t know if it had the effect that fewer people came in the next few days, but it’s probably hard to find out.
–
Hundreds of applications for state subsidies from the Element program are returned to officials by applicants. How do you explain that?
I have to stand up for the state fund here. Officials arrived at the scene and, as far as possible, arranged immediately. But it was clear that there would be things that would have to be added and that something like this would happen. Officials must therefore formally write that the requests need to be supplemented, in particular by opinions. When the appraiser arrives at the house, a testimonial is sent. This works really well for me.
–
What do the people on the ground, and indeed the municipalities, need now and what will they need in the future?
Material and craftsmen. This will be needed for a long time to come. And then especially finance. Basically, all major projects are being worked on, in schools, kindergartens. And that mainly requires money. The role of the region and mine is to communicate with ministers and officials, because there is a lot of invisible, formal work. I try to be in constant contact, especially with the mayors, to be of benefit to them.
–
It is said that such a great event will either be made or done by politics. How do you feel?
Even though people criticize me in many places, there is still a big wave of support. A few days later, I said for fun that maybe there would be no ice age or something like that in the winter, because on the days when the covid ended, we thought we had to focus on the proper work for which we came to the region. And then a tornado arrived. Hopefully that autumn will be calmer.
—
