The company FCC Česká republika helped in tornado-impacted towns

On Thursday 24 June 2021 the south east of the Czech Republic was hit by an extreme storm with hail and a tornado that reached F4 on the Fujita scale, making it the second most powerful tornado possible. It impacted a strip of territory 26 kilometres long and approximately half a kilometre wide. During the evening and following day several hundred injured people were treated and six died, meaning that it was the tornado with the highest number of casualties in Europe since 2001. More than 1200 buildings and many trees and vehicles were damaged in the affected towns. Approximately 200 houses had to be condemned. Infrastructure, including rail corridor, was also badly affected. Damage to private and public property amounted to approximately 15 billion crowns (600 million euros). 

Over recent years our company has got used to helping out automatically during the natural disasters which have impacted various parts of the Czech Republic, usually in the form of floods. These are not necessarily towns where we ensure services directly. This was also the case in the area impacted by the tornado. We didn’t think twice about helping out.

“One organisation that contacted us for help was the Brno Diocesan Charity, and so did our employees operating in the affected area as members of volunteer firefighter associations,” explained Martin Grepl, regional head of operations for FCC companies in Czechia for southern Moravia. “Our help focused on inhabitants of the town Mikulčice impacted by the tornado. It consisted mainly of providing large skips, help in loading them and taking waste to a dump outside the town,” he adds.

Colleagues from the plants in Brno, Miroslav and Znojmo mainly helped. Many of them spent several days from morning to evening helping to clear up the damage. They are all owed many thanks for their efforts and commitment.