A person lost their life in southwest Poland, while thousands were evacuated in the Czech Republic as heavy rains continued to inundate central Europe on Sunday, leading to widespread flooding in several regions. A firefighter addressing flooding in Lower Austria also perished, according to Austrian Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler, who announced on social media platform X that the province, which encircles Vienna and borders the Czech Republic and Slovakia, had been declared a disaster area. Rivers overflowed from Poland to Romania, where four fatalities were reported on Saturday, following days of torrential rain under a low-pressure system dubbed Boris. Some areas in the Czech Republic and Poland experienced the worst flooding in nearly three decades.
In the Czech Republic, a quarter of a million households were left without power due to strong winds and rain. Czech police reported they were searching for three individuals who were in a car that plunged into the river Staric near Lipova Lazne, approximately 235km east of Prague on Saturday. In Poland, one person died in Klodzko county, which Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as the most severely affected area in the country, with 1,600 people evacuated. "The situation is very dramatic," Tusk told reporters on Sunday after a meeting in Klodzko town, which was partially submerged as the local river surged to 665cm on Sunday morning, far exceeding the alarm level of 240, before slightly receding. This surpassed a record set during heavy flooding in 1997, which partially damaged the town and claimed 56 lives in Poland.
The nearby historic town of Glucholazy ordered evacuations on Sunday morning as the local river began to breach its banks, while firefighters and soldiers had been battling since Saturday to safeguard a bridge in the town. Residents across the Czech border also reported that the situation was worse than previous flooding incidents. "What you see here is worse than in 1997, and I don't know what will happen because my house is under water, and I don't know if I will even return to it," said Pavel Bily, a resident of Lipova Lazne. The fire service in the region reported that 1,900 people had been evacuated as of Sunday morning, with many roads rendered impassable. In the worst-hit areas, more than 100mm of rain fell overnight, and around 450mm since Wednesday evening, according to the Czech weather institute. More rain is expected on Sunday and Monday.
In Budapest, officials raised forecasts for the Danube to rise in the latter half of this week, approaching a record 8.91 metres seen in 2013, as rain continued in Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria. "According to forecasts, one of the biggest floods of the past years is approaching Budapest but we are prepared to tackle it," said Budapest's mayor Gergely Karacsony. In Romania, authorities reported that the rain was less intense than on Saturday, when flooding claimed four lives and damaged 5,000 homes. Towns and villages in seven counties across eastern Romania were affected, and the country's emergency response unit said it was still searching for two missing individuals.
