Winter On The
Bug River
Polish Farmers Caught Between Floodwaters And Looters
Warsaw, Poland 28 January 2010 - As Poland's Bug River water levels rise, Polish people in the Lubelski Province are choosing to stay on their farms and save what they can from the pending floodwaters rather than risk losing everything now to looters.
The water rose 1.5 meters from under the ice covering the Bug. A few homesteads are surrounded by water. So far no water has gotten into any homes but stables and barns are filling up.
The Army used amphibious vehicles to remove livestock from a few farms.
One family and their livestock were evacuated from Moscice Dolne, a village in the Lubelski Province. The family’s farming equipment remains mostly under water.
“Ice already froze over in the barn but I made the cows a podium out of hay and somehow things worked out,” evacuated farmer Czeslaw Slazak said.
“But now it’s all for nothing.”
The remaining families in the threatened village won’t move and the army and fire brigade are kept on standby.
A spokesperson for the provincial fire brigade said water levels in Moscice Dolne rose about half a meter overnight.
“Water is overflowing over the vast terrain and is freezing quickly,” the spokesperson said.
The fire department and the village prefect encouraged locals to evacuate during this dangerous period.
But residents stood their ground.
Some said it’s not so bad, it’s a matter of getting used to, and over the winter months, they’ve got used to it.
Others admitted is simply a fear of looters keeping them home.
They assured their village prefect and the army that they have supplies and will stick it out.
The village prefect asked the residents to sign off on documents which said they would remain at their own risk.
“But no one will sign,” one resident said.
The family of four evacuated left one of their own behind, a son, to keep an eye on the property.
“They don’t want to leave the homestead unsupervised,” the village prefect said.
“So they won’t loot it. After all, there are machines here,” the farmer said.
The remainder of the family along with some 50 sheep and a few head of swine and cattle were moved to a publicly owned farm a few kilometers away.
The river has completely frozen over blocking its flow and forcing water up onto the river bank.
The military said the ice is too thick and it’s far too risky to break up the ice and recover river flow because the problem is sure to recur further upstream.
By Victoria Ziarkowski
Freelance Writer
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