Government to Debate Flood Relief

The meeting will feature the cabinet as well as the heads of agencies and outside experts.

The country was hit by fresh flooding on Friday and Saturday, just weeks after swaths of central Slovenia were inundated.

This has been the fourth wave of floods this year alone.

On Saturday, PM Miro Cerar visited the areas which have been worst hit by this weekend's floods.

He announced concrete preventive measures would be a government priority next year.

Environment Minister Irena Majcen told POP TV last evening that some EUR 20-25m for maintenance of river beds and related works was secured.

Majcen, who visited the municipality of Ig on the outskirts of Ljubljana, said that some EUR 300m would suffice in the next five years to properly upgrade and maintain all the river beds which have been neglected for years.

Indeed, PM Cerar attributed the frequent floods to "an irresponsible attitude towards our environment", saying nothing has been done in this respect for years.

Experts have been warning for years that the authorities have failed to put in place flood safety measures despite the increasing frequency of severe flooding.

While lack of funds has been a problem given the squeeze on public finances, decision-making has also emerged as an area of concern.

Source: The Slovenia Times