Record amount of donations received in support of Czech tornado victims

Nearly 95,000 people have donated over 110 million crowns in a fundraising campaign for devastated areas in the wake of a tornado in South Moravia through Nadace Via in less than 24 hours.

Nadace Via head Zdeněk Mihalco said such a high sum has never before been collected in such a short time in the history of Czech charity efforts.

Diocese Charity Brno, meanwhile, had raised more than 50 million crowns as of Friday evening. Funds are being raised in support of Moravian municipalities hit by the tornado all over the country.

Nadace Via will coordinate its next steps with the crisis staff of the South Moravia Region.

The Czech Regional Development Ministry will give 420 million crowns to help south Moravian towns restore property after they were hit by the devastating tornado.

The Czech government will offer up to five million crowns to locals to help repair their destroyed homes. Two million will be given a subsidy, and three million as a special loan for 30 years. This program will be launched as soon as the government approves it on Monday, according to Regional Development Minister Klára Dostálová.

Finance Minister Alena Schillerová said the financial administration should provide relief to entrepreneurs in the afflicted areas in the form of postponement of tax payments.

The Environment Ministry will also provide hundreds of millions of crowns for planting trees and repair of sewage treatment plants, Minister Richard Brabec said on Twitter.

The Karel Komárek Family Foundation and Sazka will send 150 million crowns for repairs in the damaged areas. CEZ said it will give 10 million crowns to the area. The Czech Association of Towns and Municipalities will earmark five million crowns in targeted aid.

Czech political parties have also decided to send money in aid of the people hit by the devastating storm. The ANO party of PM Andrej Babiš has agreed to give five million crowns. The opposition alliance of ODS, Christian Democrats, and TOP 09 said it sent 1.5 million crowns.

Deputy PM Jan Hamáček tweeted that his Social Democrats party would send 600,000 crowns to four villages hit by the tornado. The Pirates and STAN parties are also collecting money. Freedom and Direct Democracy MPs have collected around 200,000 crowns.

Labor Minister Jana Maláčová said her ministry would give a special subsidy to a damaged retirement home in Hodonín and other providers of social care services in the area. She previously said people from the afflicted municipalities may get immediate aid of up to 57,900 crowns.

Information about how you can support Czech tornado victims can be found here.