Hungary’s largest ever industrial disaster with major ecological implications occurred on 4 October 2010. The red sludge that poured forth from the burst storage facility of Mal Zrt. near the town of Ajka flooded three localities: Kolontár, Devecser and Somlóvásárhely. Ten people died in consequence of the disaster, more than two hundred were injured, and hundreds of homes became uninhabitable.

The Government was determined to restore normality in the affected localities, and set up a Hungarian Damage Alleviation Fund which accepted donations from all over the world. 112 new homes were built in total for the families who lost their homes in Devecser and Kolontár.

The Government’s extremely prompt measures prevented the escalation of the situation and the emergence of further losses. In addition to the assistance of the Government, hundreds of thousands of volunteers also took part in the superhuman recovery effort.

The united efforts and cooperation yielded tangible results: the area affected by the red sludge disaster was re-built in a year. The reconstruction of the area and the rehabilitation of the environment in the wake of the red sludge disaster cost the State HUF 38 billion in total. In contrast to the examples of industrial disasters abroad, Hungary provided compensation for the victims at an unprecedented rate.

Last Thursday, four years after the disaster, the Metropolitan Tribunal awarded damages in excess of forty million forints in two lawsuits instituted against Mal Zrt. by a dozen victims due to the red sludge flood in decisions which are not yet final and absolute.

(Prime Minister's Office)