Torrential rains leave 13 dead, missing and thousands evacuated in Central Europe

The storm Boris is causing the most severe torrential rains of the last decade in Central Europe with historic floods of rivers such as the Elbe or the Danube, leaving at least 13 dead, several missing and thousands of evacuees in Romania, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Flooding is very serious in Romania, where six people have died in Galati County in the east of the country. Several villages have been affected and dozens of people have had to be evacuated.

“It’s a total disaster“I don’t know what we’re going to do after we clean people’s homes, because they can’t live there anymore,” he lamented from the Romanian town of Slobozia Conachi, Emil Dragomir.

More than 15,000 people have been affected by the severe storm, dozens of roads have been cut off and special teams have been deployed to rescue those trapped.

Poland

Very complicated situation also in Poland, where Three people have died due to flooding in the south. Since Friday night, the storm of rain and wind that has hit the south of the country has caused cuts in communications, has isolated some towns and has caused the evacuation of several thousand inhabitants from the regions of Silesia, Opole and Lesser Poland.

The situation remains serious in the districts of Kłodzko, Ząbkowice, Wałbrzych and Kamienna Góra (south), where more than 3,000 people have been evacuated by amphibious means and helicopter.

Besides, The Pilchowice dam is about to overflow Nearby towns such as Lwówek Śląski are currently being evacuated, while firefighters and emergency services are erecting sandbag barriers and trying to secure the Kamienna Góra bridge.

Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has called a Council of Ministers with urgency character to define the scope of the declaration of a disaster area.

Austria and Czech Republic

Three people have died in Austria due to heavy flooding. The masses of water have broken 12 dams in Lower Austria, while 12,000 homes are without electricity and in 23 localities there is no drinking water.

In the Czech Republic One person has drowned in the Krasovka River in the north-west of the country as a result of the heavy flooding. The scale of the disaster is comparable to that of 1997, when 50 people died.