Entrepreneurs in need: Waiting for aid for devastating storms

Entrepreneurs in need: Waiting for aid for devastating storms

The devastating storms in September this year met many companies in Lower Austria hard. An entrepreneur from a small town on the Danube reports in an interview with today about his anger and disappointment on the lack of support from the disaster fund. He complains that despite timely applications and complete documents, he is still waiting for financial aid to this day. "This is not normal," he says, as wonders whether it is in the game when it comes to the allocation of the aid, since in his opinion "the friends of the powerful" would have already received help while others go out.

According to the Lower Austrian disaster fund, around 15,500 applications have been received since the severe rainfall, of which around 280 million euros in aid funds have been paid out. However, the speed of the payment also depends on the amount of damage. Smaller companies therefore have difficulty getting financial help. The responsible persons explain that the processing time varies depending on the applicant; Smaller request must be treated differently than large amounts that may require a more extensive examination.
The state of Upper Austria, as in another report by Oberösterreich.Gv.at , has also set up a disaster fund to support entrepreneurs according to natural disasters. Insurance agents require special evidence of the damage and the applications must be submitted within a period of 120 days. Despite the high number of applications submitted, it remains unclear why some of those affected and the described entrepreneur have to report on answers and help.

The entrepreneur calls for the responsible bodies to process his and the applications of other damage faster. Despite the promise that a payment should be made by Christmas, the uncertainty remains in the air, while the flood disaster is still present in the minds of people.