PRAGUE (AP) — The death toll rose Sunday in central European countries after days of heavy rain caused widespread flooding and forced mass evacuations.
Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and several Central European countries have already been hit by severe flooding. RomaniaSlovakia and Hungary could be next, with record rainfall in the region since Thursday as a result of a low pressure system from northern Italy.
Five people died in Romania, and one each in Austria and Poland. In the Czech Republic, four people were missing after being swept away by the water, police said.
Not done yet
Much of the Czech Republic has been affected, with authorities issuing high flood warnings for around 100 locations across the country. But the situation was worse in two northeastern regions, which have recorded the heaviest rainfall in recent days, including the Jeseniki Mountains near the Polish border.
In Opava town, up to 10,000 people out of a population of about 56,000 have been asked to leave their homes and move to higher ground. Rescue teams used boats to evacuate people in the flooded Opava River to safer places.
“There is no reason to wait,” Mayor Tomasz Navrad told Czech public radio. He said the situation is worse than the last catastrophic flood in 1997, dubbed the “flood of the century”.
“We must focus on saving lives,” Prime Minister Peter Fiala told Czech public television on Sunday. His government is meeting on Monday to assess the damage.
The Prime Minister warned that the worst was “not behind us yet” as floods swept across the country.
“It is obvious that we have learned from the previous crisis,” said President Peter Powell with great confidence.
At least 4 are missing and villages have been cut off
Thousands of people were evacuated from the cities of Krnov, which was almost completely flooded, and Český Tesin. The Oder River, which flows into Poland, reached extreme levels in the city of Ostrava and Bochum, prompting mass evacuations.
The regional capital Ostrava is the third largest Czech city. Its mayor, John Dohnel, said the city was facing major traffic disruptions in the coming days. Almost no trains run in the region.
Towns and villages in the Jesenice Mountains, including the local center of Jesenice, were flooded and isolated by raging waters that turned roads into rivers. The army sent a helicopter to help evacuate people.
Jesenik Mayor Zdenka Blistanova told Czech public television that several houses in hers and other nearby towns were destroyed by the flood. Many bridges and roads were also badly damaged.
About 260,000 homes across the country were without power on Sunday morning, while traffic was halted on several roads, including the main D1 highway.
A firefighter died as Lower Austria was declared a disaster zone
A firefighter died after “falling down the stairs” while evacuating a flooded basement in the city of Thuln, Lower Austria’s fire department chief Dietmar Fahrfellner told reporters on Sunday.
Authorities declared all of Lower Austria a disaster zone, while emergency workers have so far evacuated 1,100 homes.
“We are going through difficult and dramatic times in Lower Austria. For many people in Lower Austria, this will be the most difficult time of their lives,” said Johanna Mikl-Leitner, governor of Lower Austria.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Neuhammer, who was visiting the disaster zone in Lower Austria, said 2,400 soldiers were ready to support relief efforts.
In Vienna, the Wien River overflowed its banks, flooding homes and forcing the evacuation of homes closest to the river first.
Romania reports another flood
Romanian authorities said on Sunday that one more person had died in the hard-hit eastern province of Galati Four people were reported dead A day earlier, following unprecedented rains.
Dramatic flooding in Poland
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday that one person had died in flooding in the south-west.
Tusk said the situation around Klotzko, a town of about 25,000 residents in a valley in the Sudeten Mountains near the border with the Czech Republic, was “dramatic”.
In Glucholazy, rising waters overflowed the banks of a river and flooded streets and houses. Mayor Paweł Szymkowicz said “we are drowning” and appealed to residents to flee to higher ground.
Energy supplies and communications have been cut in some flooded areas, and regions may resort to using the satellite-based Starlink service, Tusk said.
The change in weather followed a warm start to September in the region. Scientists have documented Earth’s hottest summerBreaking a record from a year ago.
Hot environment, operated Human-caused climate changeleading to more intense rainfall.
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Monika Cieslowska in Warsaw, Poland, Philipp-Moritz Jenne and Stephanie Lichtenstein in Vienna, and Stephen McGrath in CBU, Romania contributed to this report.
