One million denars. That is what initial estimates say it will cost to repair the roof structures of the „Vanche Prke“ primary school and the „Vera Ciriviri-Trena“ kindergarten in Shtip, after the storm of 21 July swept through the Eastern Region. That is the bill for two municipal buildings alone. The real bill is still being drawn up.

The wind that caused this damage blew at 134 kilometres an hour. The Shtip clinical hospital took the worst of it. The collapsed roof structure and the building debris are still being cleared, after which the roof will have to be fully rebuilt as a matter of urgency.

The consequence is not only structural. On Wednesday, the clinical hospital in Shtip notified every hospital and health centre in the Eastern Region not to send fracture patients to its orthopaedic ward for the next several days. So a wind of 134 kilometres an hour switched off the orthopaedic ward of a regional hospital, and patients are being routed to other centres. If anyone is wondering what "critical infrastructure" means, this is the definition.

In neighbouring Probishtip the picture is much the same, only spread across far more addresses. Mayor Toni Tonevski said the municipality has received more than 100 damage claims from residents. Most concern damaged house roofs, outbuildings, garages, canopies, facades and damaged vehicles. Public buildings and institutions were hit too.

Damage assessment commissions are already in the field in both municipalities. Shtip municipality clarifies that the million denars covers only the institutions under its authority - the figure for residents' claims will be known once the commission has been out to inspect. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called on residents who suffered material damage to report it to the municipal commissions so they can be compensated.

The call is fair and necessary. But in the Balkans, the distance between "file your claim" and "the money has been paid" is often measured in years. The question worth remembering come September is how many of those 100-plus claims in Probishtip get closed with an actual payment, and how many stay on as a record in a drawer. The history of storm compensation here does not encourage much optimism.