State, citizens provide first round of flood relief funding

The Ministry of Finance has provided 55 million crowns for disaster relief in the three regions most affected by recent flooding in Moravia. 20 million will go to the regions of Moravia-Silesia and Zlín while another 15 million has been earmarked for the region of Olomouc. Officials said they expect the regions themselves to match the first round of financial aid provided by the federal government. Meanwhile, the Forum of Donors says that private donors have so far given more than seven million crowns in aid to humanitarian organisations for disaster relief. The Ministry of Agriculture has so far estimated that the floods have caused a billion crowns in damages to waterways and agriculture alone, with an additional 550 million in damages to road and rail infrastructure in the regions.