Heavy flooding has hit a number of communities in south-west Poland following heavy rainfall, leaving one person drowned and 1,600 people evacuated.
Severe flooding occurred in some parts of the Lower Silesia Voivodeship as of the end of 14 September after several days of heavy rains. According to local authorities, water levels in the Biala Ladecka and Morawa rivers have exceeded the levels seen during the Great Flood of 1997 and continue to rise.
Some 17,000 households in the county remained without electricity and mobile phone services were unavailable in some areas. The following videos show the situation in different parts of Poland.
“The situation is very dramatic, it’s most dramatic in Klodzko county. I’m calling for residents to cooperate with rescue services where calls for evacuation are issued,” according to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Road access to the towns of Ladek Zdroj and Stronie Slaskie remained virtually cut off, according to him. Klodzko, a town of 25,000 people, was partially under water when the local river rose to 665cm, well above the alert level of 240.
The Regional Water Management Board in Wroclaw declared a critical situation for the areas potentially affected by the dam overflow, as well as for the town of Stronie Slaskie on the Morawa river. Some local schools, sports facilities and community centres have become temporary shelters.
Serious disruptions to transport and businesses will almost certainly occur until water levels subside and authorities complete their emergency response. Flooding could cause power outages, affect clean water sources or disrupt telecommunications services in the area.
The slow-moving low-pressure system, dubbed Storm Boris, has dumped a month’s worth of rainfall on several of Europe’s historic capitals, including Vienna, Bratislava and Prague. Four people died in Romania, where heavy rains left hundreds of people stranded in flooded areas. Significant flooding will continue in the Czech Republic, where authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations from some areas.
In neighbouring Austria, heavy rains have caused water levels to rise in several rivers, leading to rescue services being called to parts of the country overnight. Meanwhile, Germany’s southern and eastern states are preparing for flooding. Meteorologists predict that heavy rains will continue until at least 15 September.
