Verkhovna Rada votes for allocation of additional UAH 2 bln to overcome effects of floods

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has adopted a bill introducing amendments to the law on Ukraine's state budget for 2020 to increase the reserve fund of the state budget to overcome the effects of floods in western Ukraine.

A total of 350 MPs voted for the respective bill with the necessary technical and legal amendments at an extraordinary meeting on Friday, July 3, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

The law provides for an increase of UAH 2 billion in the reserve fund of the state budget in order to provide funding for measures to tackle the negative effects of the June floods in the western regions of Ukraine and prevent other emergencies.

The explanatory note to the bill states that the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Chernivtsi regional state administrations have stated a minimum additional need for funds to repair the facilities damaged by the June floods and the provision of assistance to the affected population in the amount of over UAH 1.4 billion.

Heavy rains during June 22-24 complicated the flood situation in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Zakarpattia and Ternopil regions. The disaster killed three people, and another one went missing in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. In Prykarpattia alone, more than 10,000 houses were flooded, and 149 kilometers of roads and 90 bridges were destroyed as a result of the June floods.

op