At least 15 people have now died in flooding caused by Storm Boris in central and eastern Europe, with many countries bracing for more torrential rain. The flooding has been the worst central Europe has seen in at least two decades, authorities said on Monday.
Border areas between the Czech Republic and Poland were especially hit hard over the weekend, with surging water levels leading to collapsed bridges and damaged cars and houses.
The number of flood victims in southwestern Poland rose to five after the body of a surgeon returning from hospital duty was found in the town of Nysa on Monday morning, firefighters said. Earlier, the bodies of two women and two men were found in the towns of Bielsko-Biala and Ladek-Zdroj, and in two villages.
Police in the Czech Republic said that one woman drowned in the northeast, which has been pounded by record rainfall since Thursday. Seven other people were missing on Monday, up from four a day earlier.
Meanwhile, in Romania, the flooding killed at least six people over the weekend, and in Austria, a firefighter died on Sunday. In the state of Lower Austria that surrounds Vienna, two men aged 70 and 80 were also found drowned in their homes.
Television footage showed streets in the Polish region of Klodzko strewn with debris and mud. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have called for food donations for flood survivors.
Experts are warning of a flood threat in Opole, Poland, a city of some 130,000 residents, where the Oder River has reached high levels and started bursting its banks at some points. Concerns have also been raised northwest of there, in the city of Wroclaw, home to about 640,000 residents, where the flooding was expected on Wednesday. The city suffered a disastrous flood in 1997 and the trauma is still present there.
Poland’s government announced a state of natural disaster in affected areas and said that it had set aside one billion zlotys ($260m) to help victims on Monday.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was in touch with the leaders of other affected countries and that they would ask the European Union for financial aid.
Czech authorities declared a state of emergency in two northeastern regions, which have seen the worst flooding, including in the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.
Several towns and cities were submerged on Sunday in the northeast, with thousands evacuated. Military helicopters joined rescuers on boats in efforts to transport people to safety.
In Austria, the levels of rivers and reservoirs fell overnight as rain eased, but officials have said they are bracing for a second wave as heavier rain is expected.
After hitting Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, flooding could affect 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.