Central Europe sees worst floods in more than two decades
Residents of several areas in Poland and the Czech Republic rushed to evacuate their homes on Monday as other parts of central Europe began clearing away the worst of the damage. Floods For more than two decades, which has left devastation and led to a high death toll.
The border areas between the Czech Republic and Poland were badly affected over the weekend as heavy rains since last week and rising water levels caused bridges to collapse, residents to be evacuated and cars and homes to be damaged.
Locals stand among the rubble in the courtyard of a flood-damaged apartment building in Ladek-Zdroj, southern Poland, on September 16, 2024. AFP
At least 17 people have been killed in floods that have swept across the region from Romania to Poland in the past few days.
The mayor of Nysa, a town of more than 40,000 people in southern Poland, called on residents to evacuate the town immediately on Monday afternoon after a nearby flood bank was damaged.
in Ostrava city In northeastern Czech Republic, a dam break on the Odra River at its confluence with the Opava River flooded the city’s industrial area including the Borsodkim chemical plant, the KK Koksovny coke plant and others. Hundreds of people were evacuated from other residential areas as well.
Hungarian army soldiers help with flood protection measures in the village of Pelsmrot, on September 16, 2024. AFP
In the Czech city of Letovel, 70% of which was flooded to a depth of one metre on Monday, residents described their fears as water levels rose rapidly over the weekend.
“I was very scared… I ran away because the water was rising very quickly near the house,” said Renata Gaburova, 39.
Bars and restaurants are seen on the flooded banks of the Danube River on Vienna’s Danube Island on September 16, 2024. AFP
End of the world
The Polish government has declared a state of natural disaster in the affected areas and said it has allocated 1 billion zlotys ($260 million) to help the victims.
British Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was in contact with leaders of other affected countries and that they would ask the European Union for financial assistance.
Standing in a Ladek-Zdrój town square, 16-year-old Szymon Krzysztan described the damage from the floods as “unimaginable.”
“It’s like the end of the world… it’s a ghost town,” he added.
“Armageddon… has literally destroyed everything because we don’t have a single bridge. In Ladek all the bridges have disappeared. We are practically cut off from the world,” Jerzy Adamczyk, 70, told Reuters.
In Jesnik, a Czech town across the border that was flooded on Sunday, clean-up operations began after the waters receded, revealing damaged cars and debris in the streets.
“There was two metres of water flowing across the street… There are many destroyed cars. The phones are not working, there is no water and no electricity,” said resident Zdenek Kozelek.
In eastern Romania, where villages and towns were flooded over the weekend, Emil Dragomir, mayor of Slobozia Kunache, told Romanian television that some people had nothing left but the clothes they were wearing.
This picture taken on September 16, 2024 in Bela Pod Pradim shows houses damaged by flooding from the swollen Bela Creek. CZECH/AFP
Danube River Level Rise
While the waters were receding in some areas, others, including Wroclaw, a Polish city of about 600,000 people, were working to strengthen defenses against the oncoming floodwaters.
In Romania, floods have killed seven people in the past few days. An Austrian firefighter died on Sunday. In the state of Lower Austria surrounding Vienna, a police spokesman said on Monday that two men, aged 70 and 80, had been found drowned in their homes.
Four people have died in flooding in Poland, police said, while three people have died in the Czech Republic, a police official said.
Members of the Dunajec rowing club inspect the flooded rowing club on the banks of the Danube River as water levels continue to rise in Bratislava, Slovakia, on September 16, 2024. AFP
The Slovakian capital Bratislava and the Hungarian capital Budapest are bracing for possible flooding as the Danube River rises.
Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said efforts were focused on keeping the river and its tributaries within their banks, adding that up to 12,000 troops were on standby to help.
In Austria, river and reservoir levels fell overnight as rainfall eased, but officials said they were bracing for a second wave with heavy rain expected.
