President warns cheap can be expensive in post-flood reconstruction

"If we build cheaply and badly, the next floods will sweep it all away again, and so on in an endless loop," she said in her press statement while visiting the site where a levee on the Mura River developed a break during the floods near the village of Dolnja Bistrica in the north-east of the country.

Floods are part of the new normal, and so every flood prevention measure must be done in a way ensuring quality, quickly but not too quickly, she added as she warned that low-cost measures might in the end cost a lot.

Nearly a month and a half after the devastating floods, the situation looks better than it was when she first visited the affected areas, but she decided to go back to learn what the people need right now.

"People want to know as soon as possible whether they can go back to their houses; whether their homes have to be demolished or whether they can start renovating them."

There are around 500 cases in Slovenia, where people are posing these questions, and they need to get their answers now, she said, noting that the reconstruction of levees should be expedited, since they were a key bulwark against any new flooding.

As soon as she returns from New York, where she will attend the 78th meeting of the UN General Assembly, the president will meet representatives of humanitarian organisations to discuss their flood relief efforts.

The levee near Dolnja Bistrica held up only because of volunteers and some 32,000 sandbags they were putting in place all night long, Pirc Musar said.

There is a disagreement between environmentalists and local farmers over the manner to expand the levee, which the president said should be resolved as soon as possible.

In addition to the Prekmurje region in the north-east, the president also visited the Upper Savinja Valley and the Koroška region in the north. She met with the representatives of local authorities, communities and businesses to get briefed on reconstruction efforts.