Torrential rains in Central Europe have caused deadly flooding in the region, with four new deaths reported in Poland, one in the Czech Republic and one in Romania on Monday.
Floods inundated parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low pressure system moving through the area brought record rainfall for days and is expected to hit Slovakia and Hungary later in the week. So far, 14 people have died: seven in Romania, five in Poland, one in the Czech Republic and one in Austria.
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting and subsequently declared a natural disaster in flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuation and rescue. He also said the government would provide $258,000 in immediate compensation to victims.
Floods in Poland have breached dams and reservoirs, while receding waters have left streets covered in piles of debris and mud. This prompted a hospital in the town of Nysa in southwestern Poland to evacuate around 40 patients.
Schools and offices in the affected areas remained closed on Monday and drinking water and food were distributed by truck. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have appealed for food aid for flood survivors.
Experts have warned of the risk of flooding due to the overflowing of the Oder River in Opole, home to around 130,000 people, and in Wroclaw, home to around 640,000 people, which suffered catastrophic flooding in 1997.
Firefighters in southwestern Poland said the flood victims included a surgeon whose body was found in Nysa on Monday morning after he returned from work at a hospital. The bodies of two women and two men were found in other communities in the region.
Czech police said a woman drowned in the northeast, which has been hit by record rainfall since Thursday. Seven more people were missing on Monday, up from four days earlier.
Romanian authorities said Monday that one more person has died in the eastern province of Galati, bringing the total death toll in the country to seven.
One death had previously been reported in Austria.
Czech authorities have declared a state of emergency in two northeastern regions, including the Jeseníky Mountains near the border with Poland.
In the northeast, several towns were flooded and thousands of people were evacuated. Military helicopters joined rescuers on boats to ferry people to safety. On Monday, floodwaters swept through mountainous areas, leaving homes, bridges and roads in ruins.
Conditions were expected to improve across most of the country after Monday.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited one of the hardest hit towns of Jeseník.
“The worst is behind us and now we have to deal with all the damage,” Fiala said after the visit.
In Hungary, Budapest’s mayor has warned residents that the worst flooding in a decade is expected to hit the capital later this week, with the Danube expected to overflow the lower part of the city on Tuesday morning.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has cancelled planned foreign engagements, including a speech to the European Parliament plenary session on Wednesday, where a heated debate is expected over his conduct after Hungary takes over the rotating EU presidency in July.
“Until we get to the top and the worst is over, I will naturally not leave the country, I will stay here at home,” he said.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karasoni wrote on Facebook that the city will use 1 million sandbags to strengthen flood resistance and urged residents to be careful when approaching the river.
Janicek and Scislowska write for The Associated Press. Janicek reported from Prague. Justin Spike contributed to this report from Budapest, Hungary.
