Heavy rains and floods have hit large swaths of Central Europe, with authorities urging people to follow emergency evacuation orders.
At least 17 people are dead across Central Europe from the floods, according to Reuters. Poland and the Czech Republic are especially hard-hit. While the floodwaters are receding in some areas, others are still bracing as rivers rise and residents of some of the regions already hit in Poland are describing the damage.
Polish resident Szymon Krzysztan, 16, standing in the town square of Ladek Zdroj, described losses from the floods as “unimaginable.”
“It’s a city like in an apocalypse. … It’s a ghost town,” Krzystan told Reuters.
Jerzy Adamczyk, 70, told Reuters the scene was like “Armeggedon.”
“It literally ripped out everything because we don’t have a single bridge,” Adamczyk said. “In Ladek, all bridges have disappeared. We are practically cut off from the world.”
Flood conditions were seen in 207 locations across the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a post on social media.
“Evacuations are underway in Opava, Krnov, Ostrava, Jeseník, Frýdlantsk and other places. Over 12,000 people were evacuated. A state of danger was declared in Frýdlantska,” Fiala said on X, adding that firefighters had intervened in 7,884 incidents since the floods began.
Fiala visited the town of Jesenik, one of the hardest hit places, and said the worst was behind them. In his social media post, he said the rain had decreased on Sunday evening and weakened temporarily.
Mass evacuations are underway across the region. Fiala urged people in the Czech Republic to listen to instructions from their mayors and local authorities.
“The situation is really dangerous and cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately, we encounter cases where people refuse to evacuate. Then there are problems and situations that are very difficult to solve. I also ask everyone not to take unnecessary risks,” he said in the post.
Following an emergency government meeting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a state of natural disaster in the flooded areas to facilitate evacuation and rescue operations, as well as to expedite financial support for the victims.
Tusk told a news conference that the Finance Ministry has so far earmarked 1 billion zlotys (US$258,000) for immediate payouts.
Water levels have subsided, leaving streets covered in debris and mud, damaged bridges and some burst dams and embankments. Schools and offices in the affected areas were closed 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 are warning of a flood threat in Opole, 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 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.
In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán cancelled his planned foreign engagements.
The mayor of Budapest warned residents close to the Danube of rising water levels and of road and public transit closures in the area.
“According to the latest forecasts, the water level of the Danube will rise by one metre per day from Monday,” Mayor Gergely Karácson said in a Facebook post.
He added that a parking ban was in place in low-lying areas near the Danube, with the city using sandbags to curtail the flooding.
— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters