At least eight people have died and others are missing after widespread flooding across eastern and central Europe.
More rainfall is expected in the coming days with surging river levels putting authorities on high alert.
Tens of thousands of homes have been damaged in both Romania, where six people have died, and the Czech Republic, where thousands were evacuated across the border.
Romania’s Galati county was among the worst-hit areas. Pic: Reuters
On Sunday, one person was found to have drowned in southwest Poland, a firefighter tackling flooding in Austria also died and two more people were killed in Romania.
In eastern Romania’s Galati county, where about 5,000 homes were damaged and 25,000 people were left without power, the bodies of three women and one man were also recovered on Saturday.
A man walks on a flooded road in Slobozia Conachi, Galati county, Romania. Pic: Reuters
In some areas, more than 160 litres (42 gallons) of rain fell per square metre.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis offered his condolences to the victims’ families, saying: “We must continue to strengthen our capacity to anticipate extreme weather phenomena.
“We are again dealing with the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present throughout the European continent, with dramatic consequences on people.”
A hotter atmosphere, driven by human-caused climate change, can hold more water and therefore lead to more intense rainfall.
The Bela River flows past a church during floods in Mikulovice, Czech Republic. Pic: AP
Three swept away in car are missing
The north of the Czech Republic bore the brunt of the country’s flooding with more than a quarter of a million homes left without power after up to 450mm of rain fell since Wednesday evening, the Czech weather institute said.
But most parts of the country have been affected and the highest flood warning has been issued for around 100 places.
Flooded houses in Jesenik in the northeastern Czech Republic. Pic: AP
Forecasters said that some parts of the country could see more than a third of their average annual rainfall by the end of the weekend.
In Opava, some 10,000 out of a population of 56,000 have been asked to leave their homes. Mayor Tomas Navratil told the Czech public radio it was worse than during the last devastating floods in 1997, known as the “flood of the century”.
Flooded roads in Lipova Lazne, Czech Republic. Pic: Reuters
‘Disaster zones’
In neighbouring Austria, 24 villages in the northeast Lower Austria province were declared by authorities to be “disaster zones” and evacuation orders started on Saturday afternoon.
“The coming hours will be the hours of truth for flood protection, for our emergency forces and numerous compatriots,” said the province’s state governor, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, adding that in one area “we expect challenges of historical dimensions”.
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Chancellor Karl Nehammer said: “The coming days will still be extremely difficult and challenging for the affected population and the emergency services.”
In Vienna, special flood relief channels built in the 1970s and 80s to drain the Danube River are expected to be tested over the weekend.
According to Meteoradar, a significant swathe of land west and southwest of Vienna was due to have around 20cm of rain by the end of Tuesday, with 10-20cm around the Poland-Czech border.
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‘Critical night’ ahead
In Poland, ahead of the weekend, authorities appealed to people to stock up on food and prepare for power outages.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday that the situation was “dramatic” around the town of Klodzko, where some 25,000 residents live in a valley in the Sudetes mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, Glucholazy mayor Paweł Szymkowicz said “we are drowning” as rising waters overflowed a river embankment and flooded streets and houses.
Moldova was also hit and more rain was expected to fall in the coming days too.
