The relentless force of Storm Boris has unleashed devastating floods across central and eastern Europe, leaving a trail of destruction and claiming at least 15 lives. The torrential rainfall, described as the worst the region has witnessed in decades, has inundated communities and caused significant damage to infrastructure.
Border areas between the Czech Republic and Poland bore the brunt of the storm’s fury over the weekend. Surging water levels led to the collapse of bridges, leaving cars and houses submerged. The toll in southwestern Poland climbed to five after the body of a surgeon returning from hospital duty was discovered in the town of Nysa on Monday morning. Previously, two women and two men were found dead in the towns of Bielsko-Biala and Ladek-Zdroj, and in two villages.
The Czech Republic also reported one drowning victim in the northeast, which has been battered by record rainfall since Thursday. An alarming seven individuals remained missing on Monday, a stark increase from the four reported the day before. The flooding’s grim reach extended to Romania, where at least six people perished over the weekend. Austria also saw a tragic loss, with a firefighter losing his life on Sunday. In the state of Lower Austria surrounding Vienna, two men aged 70 and 80 were discovered drowned in their homes.
Television footage on Monday depicted a scene of utter devastation in the Polish region of Klodzko, with streets strewn with debris and mud. In the town of Nysa, a hospital was evacuated, with patients, including pregnant women and the elderly, being transported to safety on rafts. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have launched appeals for food donations for flood survivors.
A source reporting from the region described the situation as devastating. “When the floods came through this historical town, it wreaked havoc… people are trying to salvage what they can… people are appealing for help. They want food, clothes and electricity,” they said. The source added that residents had been frantically placing sandbags in the streets and in front of their houses in preparation for more floods, but the ferocity of the initial wave caught many off guard. “But it is difficult to prepare. When the first [flood] wave hit, it was very high and there was no warning,” they said.
Experts are raising concerns about a potential flood threat in Opole, Poland, a city of approximately 130,000 residents, where the Oder River has reached dangerously high levels and begun to overflow its banks. Fears have also been voiced for the city of Wroclaw, home to about 640,000 people, located northwest of Opole, where flooding is expected on Wednesday. The city still carries the scars of a disastrous flood in 1997.
In response to the crisis, the Polish government declared a state of natural disaster in affected areas and announced the allocation of one billion zlotys ($260m) to assist victims. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed that he was in contact with leaders of other affected countries and that they would be seeking financial aid from the European Union. “From today, anyone affected by the flood – and here I mean through flooding, collapsed buildings, flooded garages, lost cars, losses linked to the flood – will be able to easily” claim funds, he said.
Czech authorities took similar action, declaring a state of emergency in two northeastern regions, which have experienced the most severe flooding, including the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border. Numerous towns and cities were submerged on Sunday in the northeast, leading to the evacuation of thousands. Military helicopters joined rescuers on boats in efforts to transport people to safety.
The floods have also reached the southeastern part of the Czech Republic, inundating the town of Litovel. The Oder River overflowed in parts of the city of Ostrava, the country’s third-largest city, after a natural dam broke, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. Firefighters and other emergency personnel are working to rectify the situation. Authorities in Ostrava have warned against travelling to the city, as most residents are without hot water and heating.
In Austria, the levels of rivers and reservoirs receded overnight as rainfall lessened, but officials are preparing for a second wave of flooding as heavier rain is anticipated. Following its passage through Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania, the flood threat is expected to extend to Slovakia and Hungary next due to a low-pressure system originating in northern Italy. This system has been dumping record rainfall in the region since Thursday.
