Floods claim more lives as torrential rain pounds central Europe
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A view of a flooded house as the river Biala Ladecka overflows into Ladek-Zdroj, Klodzko county, Poland on Sept 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LIPOVA-LAZNE/VISNOVA, Czech Republic – One person drowned in south-western Poland, a rescue worker was killed in Austria and thousands were evacuated in the Czech Republic after heavy rain continued to batter central Europe on Sept 15, causing flooding in several parts of the region.
A low-pressure system named Boris triggered days of downpours and rivers have burst their banks from Poland to Romania, where the death toll rose to five on Sept 15. More rain and strong winds are forecast until at least Sept 16.
Some parts of the Czech Republic and Poland faced the worst flooding in almost three decades, as towns evacuated thousands of residents. A quarter of a million Czech homes were without power.
The Austrian firefighter was killed as he tackled flooding in Lower Austria, Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler said, as the authorities declared the province, which surrounds the capital, Vienna, a disaster area.
A bridge collapsed in the historic Polish town of Glucholazy near the Czech border. Local media said a house was swept away, and a bridge collapsed in the mountain town of Stronie Slaskie, where a dam burst, according to the Polish weather institute.
Residents in some flooded areas were bracing themselves for conditions to deteriorate.
“It will probably get worse, because they reported (the water) is coming from the Jizera Mountains. When it rains there, it will arrive here in five or six hours,” said 84-year-old Ferdinand Gampl, a resident of the Czech village of Visnova, 138km north of the capital, Prague.
The Czech police said they were looking for three people who were in a car that plunged into the river Staric on Sept 14 near Lipova-lazne, a village about 235km east of Prague. Rainfall in the area has reached about 500mm since Sept 11.
Reuters footage showed flood waters gushing through Lipova-lazne and neighbouring Jesenik, damaging some houses and carrying debris.
“We don’t know what will be next,” Jesenik resident Mirek Burianek.said. “The internet network isn’t working, telephones don’t work... We are waiting for who will show up (to help).”
Lipova-lazne resident Pavel Bily told Reuters that the floods were even worse than those seen in 1997. “My house is underwater, and I don’t know if I will even return to it,” he said.
The police and fire services used a helicopter to evacuate people stranded in the district. Overall, more than 10,000 people had been evacuated in the country, the head of the fire service told Czech television.
A firefighter assisting with the transport of people and pets on a boat amid evacuation efforts due to flooding in Czechowice-Dziedzice, Silesia region, Poland, on Sept 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Worse than before
Just across the border in Poland, one person died in Klodzko county, which Prime Minister Donald Tusk said was the worst-hit area of the country after meeting officials in the main town.
Klodzko town was partly underwater as the local river surpassed record levels recorded in 1997, when floods killed 56 people in Poland.
Officials in nearby Glucholazy ordered evacuations early on Sept 15 although efforts to protect the town’s infrastructure failed to prevent the bridge collapse.
In the Hungarian capital, Budapest, officials raised forecasts for the river Danube to rise in the second half of this week to more than 8.5m, nearing a record of 8.91m in 2013.
“According to forecasts, one of the biggest floods of the past years is approaching Budapest, but we are prepared to tackle it,” Mayor Gergely Karacsony said. REUTERS
