Flooding in Central Europe leaves 5 dead in Poland and 1 in Czech Republic

[September 16, 2024]  PRAGUE (AP) — Massive flooding in Central Europe killed five more people in Poland and one in Czech Republic, officials said Monday.

The number of flood victims in southwestern Poland rose from one to five after the body of a surgeon returning from hospital duty was found in the town of Nysa, firefighters said.

Earlier, the bodies of two women and two men were found separately in the towns of Bielsko-Biala and Lądek-Zdrój and in two villages.

Water has subsided in those areas since then, but experts are warning of a flood threat in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, where the Oder River has reached high levels. Concerns have also been raised in the city of Wroclaw, home to some 640,000 residents.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has convened an emergency government session to consider special measures to speed up financial and other support to flooding victims.

Police in the Czech Republic said one woman drowned in the northeast, which has been pounded by record rainfalls since Thursday. Seven other people were missing on Monday, up from four a day earlier.

The floods already killed six people in Romania and one in Austria.

Most parts of the Czech Republic have been affected by floods but the situation was worst in two northeastern regions where authorities declared a state of emergency, including in the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.

A number of towns and cities were submerged on Sunday in the regions, with thousands evacuated. Military helicopters joined rescuers on boats in efforts to transport people to safety.

Waters were receding from the mountainous areas on Monday, leaving behind destroyed houses and bridges and damaged roads.

In most parts of the country, conditions were expected to improve on Monday.

A resident looks at his damaged car after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Floods moving toward the southeastern Czech Republic inundated the town of Litovel.

The Oder River that flows to Poland flooded parts of the city of Ostrava in the Czech Republic, forcing more evacuations on Monday.

Authorities in Ostrava, the country's third-largest city, warned against traveling there. Many schools were closed and most people were without hot water and heating. Officials said some 120,000 households were without power Monday morning nationwide.

After flooding hit Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, it might impact Slovakia and Hungary next as a result of a low-pressure system from northern Italy that has been dumping record rainfall in the region since Thursday.

In Hungary, the mayor of Budapest warned residents that the largest floods in a decade were expected to hit the capital later in the week, with the waters of the Danube River set to breach the city’s lower quays by Tuesday morning.

Mayor Gergely Karácsony wrote on Facebook that the city would use 1 million sandbags to protect various parts of the city, and asked residents to take extra care when near the river.
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Scislowska reported from Warsaw, Poland, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, contributed to the report.

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