Deadly flooding sweeps central Europe, leaving 16 dead

The flooding has swamped parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has unleashed record-high rains for days, and it was expected to affect Slovakia and Hungary later in the week, Associated Press (AP) reported.

So far 16 people have been reported killed — seven people in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic, and one in Austria.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting and later declared a disaster in flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuation and rescues.

The flooding in Poland has burst dams and embankments while receding waters left streets covered in piles of debris and mud. It prompted a hospital in the southwestern Polish city of Nysa to evacuate about 40 patients.

Schools and offices in the affected areas were closed on Monday and drinking water and food were being delivered by trucks. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have called for food donations for flood survivors.

Experts warned of flood threats due to the cresting Oder River in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, and Wroclaw, home to about 640,0 00 residents and where disastrous flooding happened in 1997.

Police in the Czech Republic said that a woman and two men drowned in the northeast, which has been pounded by record rainfall since Thursday.

Romanian authorities said Monday that another person died in the eastern county of Galati, bringing the total number of deaths there to seven.

One death previously was reported in Austria.

Authorities in the Czech Republic declared an emergency in two northeastern regions, including in the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.

A number of towns and cities had been submerged in the northeast, 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 later on Monday.

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.

AMK/PR