Floods across Europe kill 16, evacuations intensify

Torrential rain and severe flooding in central and eastern Europe have claimed at least 16 lives, with numerous individuals still missing.

As Euronews reports, the impact has been felt across the Czech Republic, Poland, and Austria, as authorities brace for potentially worsening conditions.

In Poland, the death toll has risen to five. A surgeon drowned in the southwestern town of Nysa, where the hospital was evacuated and patients were rescued by raft. Four additional fatalities were reported in Bielsko-Biała and Lądek-Zdrój, according to firefighters.

Austria has also been hit hard, with local media reporting that two elderly men drowned in their homes in Böheimkirchen and Sierndorf, both in Lower Austria. In the Czech Republic, a woman drowned in an overflowed stream near Bruntál, with seven people still unaccounted for.

The catastrophic flooding, described as the worst in over two decades, has prompted mass evacuations across Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Floodwaters have breached dams, submerged neighborhoods, and caused widespread power outages. In Romania, seven people have died, and a firefighter was killed in Austria.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has declared a state of emergency and established an emergency aid fund of 1 billion zlotys (£200 million). He has called for EU assistance and has promised support for those affected by the floods. More than 2,600 people were evacuated in Poland within the last 24 hours.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the situation as "dramatic" and offered Germany's assistance. In Hungary, preparations are underway to manage severe flooding as the Danube rises, with up to 12,000 soldiers on standby. Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, and Poland’s Wrocław are on high alert, while Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer noted worsening conditions, particularly in Lower Austria, now declared a disaster area.

The extreme rainfall and flooding highlight the increasing frequency and severity of such events, exacerbated by climate change.

[Information sourced from Euronews]