Askume Power in LIPOVARAZNY, Czech Republic, Sept 15 – Heavy rain continued to hit central Europe on Sunday, causing flooding in many areas, drowning one person in southwestern Poland and forcing thousands of people to cross the border into the Czech Republic.
Austria’s Deputy Chancellor Werner Kogler announced on a social platform that a firefighter fighting floods in Lower Austria also died.
A low-pressure system named Boris brought days of torrential rain, causing rivers to swell from Poland to Romania, where four people were found dead on Saturday.
Parts of the Czech Republic and Poland have experienced the worst flooding in nearly three decades.
More than 2.5 million homes in the Czech Republic were without power due to strong winds and rain. Czech police said they were searching for three people who were in a car that crashed into the Starice River near Lipova Lazne, 235 kilometers east of Prague, on Saturday.
One person was killed in Poland’s Kłodzko County, which Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as the worst-hit area in the country, and 1,600 people were evacuated.
“The situation is very serious,” Tusk told reporters after a meeting in the town of Klodzko on Sunday. On Sunday morning, the local river level rose to 665 centimetres, well above the danger level of 240 centimetres, and the town of Klodzko was partially submerged, but then fell slightly.
It surpassed the record set by the devastating floods of 1997, which partially damaged the Polish city and killed 56 people.
In the nearby ancient town of Gukorají, people were ordered to evacuate on Sunday morning as local river levels rose, while firefighters and soldiers worked to protect a bridge in the town since Saturday.
Residents on the Czech border also said the situation was worse than previous floods.
“What you see here is worse than in 1997,” said Pavel Bily, a resident of Lipova Lazne. “I don’t know what will happen next because my house was destroyed. There was a flood and I don’t know if I will ever come back there.”
The region’s fire department said 1,900 people had been evacuated by Sunday morning, while many roads were unfit for traffic.
The Czech Meteorological Institute said the worst-hit areas received more than 100 millimetres of rain overnight, with about 450 millimetres falling since Wednesday night.
More rain is expected on Sunday and Monday.
As rain continues to fall in Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, authorities in Budapest expect the level of the Danube river to rise by more than 8.5 metres this weekend, approaching the record of 8.91 metres set in 2013.
“According to predictions, the biggest flood of last year is approaching Budapest, but we are ready to deal with it,” said Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony.
Romanian authorities said the rainfall was less intense than on Saturday, when floods killed four people and damaged 5,000 homes. Towns and villages in seven eastern Romanian counties were affected, and the country’s emergency services said they were still searching for two missing people.
