The powerful storm “Boris” that has been hitting Eastern and Central Europe for four days has killed at least 15 people, caused floods, dam collapses and damage that is difficult to estimate.
Strong winds and unusually heavy rain have hit large areas of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia since Friday.
Many communities remain isolated, while hundreds of people have been evacuated by helicopter from rooftops and other locations.
In addition to the seven deaths in Romania, Austria announced that two people, aged 70 and 80, were found dead in their homes, the day after the death of a firefighter.
In the Czech Republic, one person drowned in a river, while authorities counted “seven people missing.”
Poland also reported four deaths following heavy rains and flooding, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced immediate aid of €235 million.
– “nightmare”
Twelve dams have collapsed so far, unleashing torrents of muddy water, while thousands of households remain without electricity and water in Lower Austria, authorities said.
“It’s not over yet and it’s still critical,” warned Johanna Mikl-Leitner, governor of Lower Austria, pointing to a high risk of more dam collapses.
She pointed out that the extent of the damage caused by the storm is not yet known.
In the eastern town of Krnov, 76-year-old pensioner Eliska Kokryša described the flooding as a “catastrophe.”
“All the sidewalks are destroyed, everything here is down, everything is broken around the store… it’s a nightmare,” she said.
Austria has allocated 300 million euros in aid from a special fund.
In Poland, waters in some cities, such as Klodzko, have begun to recede, revealing devastation and destruction, amid fears of further flooding in the north of the country.
Video filmed in Klodzko showed water covering a street filled with debris and shop fronts destroyed. The town of Glócholazy on the Polish-Czech border was also flooded, with many residents taking shelter in a school.
“This flooding is the worst ever in Glukholazi,” said a Red Cross volunteer. “We are trying to reach people, support them, give them tea and most importantly show them that they are not alone.”
In Romania, where floods have killed six people in recent days and left some 6,500 families without their property, the county of Galati (southeast) was the most affected.
In Slobodia Kunacci, it is difficult at this stage to assess the extent of the damage, according to Mayor Emil Dragomir, who appealed for donations for dozens of affected children.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciulacu stressed that Romania “will clean up the area to see what can be salvaged,” noting that “it is difficult to deal with this type of natural phenomenon.”
In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that he would postpone all his “international engagements”, including his attendance at the European Parliament, because of the storm.
The Hungarian prime minister was due to speak at a debate in the European Parliament on Wednesday on his country’s current presidency of the European Union.
Hungary’s General Directorate of Water Management expects the Danube River to peak in the capital Budapest at the end of this week.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed in its 2022 report that floods associated with heavy rains will increase in Central Europe with a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
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