The biggest losses and expenses in the aftermath of the storm are in Jūrmala. As already reported, in Jūrmala the cost was estimated last week at around €11 million, but it is certain to be higher for various reasons, like the outsourcing of equipment for pumping out water and other works, including borrowing it from Lithuania.
In Rīga, the additional costs so far are estimated at around €1.1 million for emergency response, including the cutting and removal of damaged trees. It will take another month to clean up the storm in the capital, said Riga Vice Mayor Edvard Ratnieks (National Alliance).
"The city is essentially safe but has restricted areas in parks and cemeteries. There may also be situations where some broken trees have not yet been identified," Ratnieks said.
"Please inform us about them, but please also be careful. If residents have flooded parts of their buildings, it will take another month to fix it. Brigades are working around the clock, but manpower and resources are what they are."
Meanwhile, half a million euros are to be spent on repairs to schools and kindergartens damaged by storms and heavy rains. 110 such places are known. The cost of these repairs is estimated at around half a million euros. These buildings are not insured - the damage will have to be covered by the municipal budget.
"Five years ago there was an assessment of how much such insurance would cost. At that time, it was estimated to be several million euros, so for reasons of expediency such a service was not evaluated," explained Uldis Rakstiņš, Director of the Riga City Council Finance Department.
So for about another month, Riga's services and authorities will have a lot of work to do in identifying the storm's aftermath.
Riga City Council plans to know the total cost of the storm recovery work by mid-August.
