Central Europe battles severe rain, flooding

Parts of the Czech Republic, southern Poland and Romania were underwater Sunday after torrential rains in recent days caused massive flooding. Other areas of central Europe also were affected.

At least six deaths have been reported in the region since the heavy downpours started, four in eastern Romania and two in Poland. A firefighter died in Austria while responding to the floods there, Austrian Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler wrote on X on Sunday.

Poland and the Czech Republic ordered evacuations from several flooded towns, while roads were closed and events canceled. Authorities declared the province surrounding Vienna a disaster area, Reuters reported.

The heavy rains moved over Central Europe from Italy in a phenomenon known as the Genoa low — from a low pressure area typically forming near the northern Italian city. The downpours led to increased runoff of water in the rivers, some of them overflowing dams and embankments, washing away bridges and inundating towns.

The Polish government deployed the army to the most affected areas in scenes similar to the catastrophic floods in 1997 and 2010. The authorities hope that infrastructure built since then will reduce the expected surge of the Oder, Poland’s second-biggest river flowing through Wrocław, a city of nearly 700,000.

Facing criticism from the opposition, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X: “Now, all that matters is help for people threatened by flooding and state action. Those who can, let them help, those who can’t, let them not hinder. Politics must give way to solidarity.”

Tusk received flak earlier last week after saying that “forecasts aren’t overly alarming,” a statement he had to fine-tune in the following days after it became clear that some locations would receive the equivalent of a few months’ precipitation in just four days.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU “stands ready to support” areas hit by the flooding. “Heartfelt solidarity with all affected by the devastating floods in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia,” she said in a post on X on Sunday.

Forecasts are for the adverse weather to gradually ease by Tuesday.