Survey: Concern over floods higher than ever during Covid
Ljubljana, 8 August - The level of concern among Slovenian residents following the floods is higher than at any time during the Covid-19 epidemic, shows a survey conducted by Valicon. The pollster noted that the floods have directly or indirectly affected more than half of the country's population.
Čresnovci, Dolnja Bistrica
Flooded area near the Mura river.
Photo: Defence Ministry
Almost a third of the 856 respondents surveyed on 7 August experienced the floods in their place of residence, almost one in seven of them experienced the floods in their own home.
Some 27% of the people polled said that they have a relative or acquaintance outside their place of residence whose home has been flooded.
The level of concern is at 79, seven points above the highest level measured during the Covid-19 epidemic in late March 2020, and nine above the highest level of concern related to the war in Ukraine, measured last March.
A higher level of concern was recorded only with regard to the increased cost of living, i.e. inflation, which has been fluctuating between 83 and 93 since March 2022, Valicon noted.
The index that monitors the personal experience of the current situation reached -43 the day after the floods, which is only one point higher than its value during the epidemic in November 2021.
The respondents rated firefighters and rescuers as the groups who have best responded to the disaster and taken action, with 97% of them assessing the action by the former as exceptional or very good, and the share being 94% for the latter.
Some 40% of the people polled said that the protection and rescue system at the national level is organised and managed very good, and 54% said it was good.
On the other hand, the respondents are not so sure about the government response and measures taken so far in relation to the floods, with 43% saying that they have been "partly adequate and partially inadequate".
The survey also shows that 43% of the respondents participate in the flood relief efforts, and that an additional third of them are willing to help, while currently not participating in the effort.
Almost 30% of the people polled believe that they probably or definitely live in an area at risk of floods and landslides. Three-quarters of them think that the latest floods are an extraordinary phenomenon resulting from climate change.