Life after disaster: Hodonín region mayors share tornado and flash flood recovery experiences

"Photos started coming in that I didn't believe at first. Then I started to recognise the surrounding villages."

"At first, I had no idea that a tornado had hit us."

"An endless night began."

These statements kicked off the conference Life After the Storm – Resilience of Cities and Villages as a Climate Challenge, a panel discussion that brought together representatives from villages affected by the tornado and one repeatedly hit by flash floods. They recalled the first moments after the disaster swept through the Podluží region of South Moravia. 

Conference moderator and director of our Czech climate programmes, Magdalena Davis, discussed how the recovery is progressing in municipalities and the surrounding countryside. Several speakers noted that the disaster sparked the successful changes that followed. 

"We are already implementing some projects. We took it as an opportunity to look at the area with open eyes, with an eye to the future," said Hodonín deputy mayor Ondřej Fialík.

Another topic of discussion was the solidarity shown by the Czech people, who sent material donations and volunteered in the affected areas. However, this generosity also created unintended challenges in some locations.

"Part of the crisis team had to figure out how to coordinate volunteers, how to feed them, where they could park their cars, and so on," said Ondřej Fialík, deputy mayor of Hodonín, expressing the need to improve volunteer coordination.

Our coordinator for post-storm recovery in South Moravia, Roman Klecker, mentioned that work is already underway to improve communication. "At the South Moravian Region level, the South Moravian Volunteer Centre initiated the creation of Dobrotým, of which I am a proud member. Several times a year, we train with the Integrated Rescue System to coordinate volunteer assistance at emergency sites so that it is well thought out and does not complicate the work of the IRS. We can set up registration points at disaster sites anywhere in the region within a few hours and start assigning work to volunteers."

The panel discussion was followed by a series of expert exchanges on increasing the resilience of the territory, landscape restoration, and settlements based on the Build Back Better principle. According to this principle, it is crucial to restore settlements and landscapes after natural disasters in ways that create future resilience. In the face of climate change, natural disasters will increase in the Hodonín region, and beyond.

Magdalena Maceková from the Partnership Foundation addressed the topic of heat and heat waves. According to her, this poses a serious risk, especially for older women. 

Magdalena was followed by Petra Kolínská, director of Zelený kruh (Green Circle), who also addressed warming temperatures. "For example, healthcare workers do not have sufficient information on how to work with patients with problems caused by heat waves," she mentioned.

However, successes are already emerging in many areas. The South Moravian Region recently became the first Czech region to approve its Climate Action Plan. "Its goal is for the region to be carbon neutral by 2050, to achieve a healthy and resilient landscape, and for its settlements to be liveable and sustainable," said Anna Kalandrová from the South Moravian Agency for Public Innovation (JINAG). She also presented the Cool Region portal, which contains guidelines for measures for a more sustainable future, climate data, and resources for municipalities.  

The conference was part of a month-long program called "Hodonín Days for Climate." As part of the programme, locals could attend various lectures, attend a plant swap, or take a bike ride along the 2021 tornado’s route. 

We organised Hodonín Climate Days as part of the EUKI ELCA project in cooperation with the city of Hodonín and under the auspices of Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík and Governor of the South Moravian Region Jan Grolich.