About 220,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to last week’s floods, which claimed 13 lives, and thousands are still unable to return home due to damage to buildings.

More than 200 houses in the CR have collapsed, Agriculture Minister Jaroslav Palas estimates. Up to 25,000 people are unable to return to their homes in Prague’s Karlin district, where 4 buildings have collapsed and dozens of others are in a dangerous condition.

A total of 18,300 firefighters, police officers and volunteers took part in rescue work. Police have so far confirmed only two cases of looting.

Several domestic banks including Ceskomoravska Stavebni Sporitelna, KB, Ceska Sporitelna and CSOB are offering advantageous loans in areas afflicted by the floods.

The banks are reducing interest on loans for repair of flood-damaged property or building replacement homes by as much as 2% and some require no proof of income from their own clients.

(PBJ 19.viii.02)