The Bela River flows past a church during flooding in Mikulovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, September 14, 2024.
Petr David Josek/AP
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Petr David Josek/AP
PRAGUE — Another night of torrential rain across Central Europe has forced mass evacuations in the hardest-hit areas of the Czech Republic, where flooding reached its peak on Sunday.
Meteorologists warn the situation could get worse as water levels in most rivers are rising, flooding is sweeping the country and heavy rain could return tonight.
Authorities have issued the highest level of flood warnings in nearly 90 locations across the country and in two northeastern regions that have seen the heaviest rainfall in recent days, including the Jeseniky Mountains near the Polish border.
In the city of Opava, up to 10,000 people out of a population of 56,000 were told to leave their homes and head for higher ground. Rescue teams used boats to ferry people to safety in a neighborhood flooded by the raging Opava River.
“There is no reason to wait,” Mayor Tomáš Navrátil told Czech public radio. He said the situation was worse than the devastating floods of 1997, dubbed the “flood of the century”.
“We have to focus on saving lives,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala told Czech public television on Sunday. His government is likely to meet on Monday to assess the damage.
The prime minister warned that “the worst is not yet over”.
Drone footage shows flooding in the Ostrava-Koblov district of the Czech Republic on Sunday.
Petr Sznapka/CTK via AP
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Petr Sznapka/CTK via AP
At least four people missing and villages isolated
Thousands more were also evacuated in the towns of Krnov, which was almost completely flooded, and Cesky Tesin. The Oder River, which flows into Poland, reached its peak in the cities of Ostrava and Bohumin, forcing mass evacuations.
Ostrava, the region’s capital, is the Czech Republic’s third-largest city. The city’s mayor, Jan Dohnal, said the city was facing major transport disruptions in the coming days. There were virtually no trains running in the region.
Towns and villages in the Jeseniky mountains, including the local center of Jesenik, were flooded and cut off by raging waters that turned roads into rivers. The military sent a helicopter to assist in evacuations.
Jesenik Mayor Zdenka Blistanova told Czech public television that several homes in her town and other nearby towns had been destroyed by flooding. Some bridges and roads were also badly damaged.
Police said four people swept away by the floodwaters remain missing.
Some 260,000 households nationwide were without power on Sunday morning, while traffic was halted on many roads, including the main D1 motorway.
Firefighter dies as Lower Austria declared a disaster zone
A firefighter died after “slipping down the stairs” while pumping water out of a flooded basement in the town of Tulln, Lower Austria fire chief Dietmar Fahrafellner told reporters on Sunday.
Authorities have declared the entire state of Lower Austria a disaster zone, while rescuers have evacuated 1,100 homes there.
“We are going through difficult and dramatic times in Lower Austria. For many people in Lower Austria, these will probably be the most difficult times of their lives,” said Johanna Mikl-Leitner, governor of Lower Austria.
In Vienna, the Wien River overflowed its banks, flooding homes and forcing people living near the river to evacuate.
Romania reports another flood victim
Romanian authorities said on Sunday that another person had died in the hard-hit eastern Galati district after four people were reported dead there a day earlier due to unprecedented rain.
A man stands in waist-deep water that flooded streets and homes in the town of Kłodzko, southwestern Poland, on Sunday.
Krzysztof Zatycki/AP
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Krzysztof Zatycki/AP
Severe flooding in Poland
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday that one person was believed to have died in flooding in the southwest.
Tusk said the situation was “very serious” around the town of Klodzko, home to about 25,000 residents, located in a valley in the Sudetes Mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.
In Glucholazy, rising waters overflowed the riverbanks and flooded streets and homes. Mayor Paweł Szymkowicz said, “we are drowning”, and urged residents to evacuate to higher ground.
Tusk said power supplies and communications have been cut off in some flooded areas and many areas may have to use the satellite-based Starlink service.
Several central European countries have suffered severe flooding, including Romania, Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary, as a low-pressure system from northern Italy brought heavy rain to the region.
The weather change comes after a hot start to September in the region, which scientists have recorded as the hottest summer on Earth, breaking a record set just a year ago.
A warmer atmosphere, due to human-caused climate change, could lead to heavier rainfall.
