Severe flooding ravages central Europe, claims at least 10 lives

Severe flooding has ravaged central Europe, claiming at least 10 lives from Poland to Romania and leaving numerous towns either submerged or battered by surging waters filled with debris following days of intense rainfall. The border regions between the Czech Republic and Poland were particularly hard-hit over the weekend, with bridges collapsing and homes being destroyed, while eastern Romania saw villages and towns inundated.
The Polish government was set to convene on Monday morning to declare a state of disaster. Although rivers in the Czech-Polish border area had begun to recede on Monday, flooding was spreading to more regions and threatening larger cities in both countries.

In the Czech Republic, the rising Morava River inundated approximately 70% of Litovel, a city with nearly 10,000 residents located 230 km (140 miles) east of Prague, forcing the closure of schools and healthcare facilities, according to the mayor’s Facebook video. Flooded areas in the northeastern Czech city of Ostrava led to the shutdown of a power plant that provides heat and hot water to the city, as well as two chemical plants, reported Reuters.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on X (formerly Twitter) that more than 12,000 people had been evacuated in the Czech Republic, and he called for an extraordinary government session on Monday. Czech Television reported the country’s first confirmed fatality on Monday, adding to the growing number of casualties across the region.
In Romania, six people lost their lives due to the flooding over the weekend, while an Austrian firefighter died on Sunday. Poland reported one drowning on Sunday, and Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak mentioned a second death, which Reuters could not immediately confirm.
As the River Danube continues to rise, Slovakia’s capital Bratislava and Hungary’s capital Budapest are both preparing for potential flooding. In Austria, river and reservoir levels decreased overnight as the rain subsided, but officials remain on alert for a second wave of heavier rainfall expected in the coming hours.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed solidarity with those affected by the flooding in a message on X, stating that the EU would provide support to the affected regions.