Heavy rains in early August, which caused catastrophic flooding and landslides, left much of Slovenia devastated. The first focus was on saving lives, followed by intervention measures. All available forces were on the ground to help residents, and several forms of assistance are still available to those affected by the floods.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia also responded immediately to the situation. In just a few days after the devastating floods, it adopted an amendment to the Natural Disaster Recovery Act, last week it approved the Act Determining Intervention Measures for Flood and Landslide Recovery, and it plans to prepare an Act on Reconstruction.

The solutions and measures proposed in the Act Determining Intervention Measures for Flood and Landslide Recovery cut across a number of areas and acts. On the one hand, they amend and supplement existing Acts, while on the other hand they temporarily introduce specific measures or deviate from systemic regulations in several areas. The proposed measures are aimed at the urgent reconstruction of damaged or completely destroyed public infrastructure, and at simplifying a number of procedures and processes for acquiring permits. The Act further contains measures to help municipalities, economic operators and residents – in terms of both material damage suffered by those directly affected and preserving jobs. In the current situation, the recently adopted amendments to the Natural Disaster Recovery Act are not sufficient to deal with the extent of the emergency situation and to provide and send adequate assistance to those affected.