Olomouc residents are building in flood areas due to a lack of parcels

Olomouc - Due to a lack of building plots and high land prices, residents of Olomouc are constructing new houses for several million crowns even in flood-prone areas. Buildings are rising even in places that were tragically affected by the flood ten years ago, and the region was threatened by high water again last spring. According to city representatives, they cannot prohibit this to anyone. However, nature conservationists and water management experts criticize this, as reported today by the Olomoucký deník.
"There is still a great interest in land in the Olomouc districts of Černovír, Lazce, or Nové Sady, which were affected by the flood ten years ago. There are very few suitable plots available in the city," said Eva Hyravá, head of the building department of the Olomouc magistrate, to the newspaper. "Most building materials are resistant; so-called pork construction has not been used for years. Therefore, no one can currently prohibit builders from constructing wooden houses near water," she added.
The building department collaborates with water management experts and the Morava River Basin Authority when granting permission for new buildings in flood areas.
However, nature conservationists and water management experts do not like witnessing construction activity in places where the flood swept through ten years ago. "It was not right to allow construction near rivers again after the floods. The area is potentially floodable again," said Jiří Šafář from the Nature Conservation Agency in Olomouc to the newspaper.
"Ideally, construction should not take place at all in flood-prone areas. Unfortunately, this is often not possible. In Olomouc, there was no zone declared after the floods in 1997 where a complete construction ban would be in effect. We cannot prohibit anyone from building a house by the river. People themselves bear the risk of flood damage," quoted Antonín Kurfürst from the Morava River Basin Authority in the newspaper.
People usually receive recommendations not to build basements in areas where the groundwater level is high. According to experts, near waterways, the ground floor should be elevated above the water level during the last floods, and it is advisable to only place the technical facilities of the house there. Living spaces are recommended to be situated up to the first floor.
According to experts, the most hazardous plots in Olomouc are in Černovíra, Lazcích, Nové Sady, and Nový Svět. In Litovel, however, apart from the historic core, the whole rest of the city is at risk according to Kurfürst.