In eastern Romania, a severe flood resulted in the unfortunate demise of at least four individuals, and inflicted severe damage on thousands of households this Saturday, according to official reports. These incidents are a result of excessive rains that have been pouring for many days, affecting many areas of central and eastern Europe, and causing rivers to swell to dangerous levels.
Following this disastrous weather, an alarming number of households in both the Czech Republic and Romania have been left without electricity, with expectations of further rain in the upcoming days. Other regions, such as Poland, Slovakia, Austria, southern Germany, and Hungary, are also bracing for more torrential downpour.
Several towns straddling the Czech-Polish border called for evacuation due to the rising river levels. On the other hand, Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic and a previous victim of devastating flooding in 2002, had been conscientious and took preventive flood control measures.
Flooding in Romania gravely impacted eight counties, with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu focusing his attention on the most adversely affected Galati county. Here, four fatalities were reported along with the damage of around 5,000 houses and power outage in 25,000 households. News outlets in the region showcased images of streets being unrecognisable under layers of muddy water, silt, and wreckage, while rescuers were seen escorting locals to safety.
The Prime Minister emphasised that their main concern is saving lives and assured that proper logistics were in place for quick intervention.
In contrast, the northern and northeastern regions of the Czech Republic suffered the most severe impact from the relentless rain, leading to a power cut in 51,000 households, as per CTK news agency. The nation’s forecasters predicted that rainfall in some parts of the country could reach more than a third of their average yearly totals by Sunday. This led Petr Hladik, the environment minister, to advise residents in the hardest-hit locations to evacuate.
Prague, home to over 1.3 million inhabitants and the picturesque 14th-century Charles Bridge, reacted by establishing flood barriers. The city, which learned its lessons from the 2002 floods affecting its subway system and displacing numerous residents, had invested significantly in safeguarding measures henceforth.
The zoo in Prague, situated near the Vltava, halted admissions while a multitude of railway services were obstructed, according to the Czech Railways. As an act of caution, a hospital in Brno, the country’s city of second highest population, relocated their patients.
Polish home secretary, Tomasz Siemoniak, proclaimed that the meteorological predictions were discouraging, indicating intense precipitation to occur in the proximity of Czech’s border over the impending 24 hours that would overflow rivers towards Poland.
Government officials from Slovakia raised concerns regarding possible floods in their capital, Bratislava, due to the rising levels of the Danube, whereas Hungary is bracing for the river to reach its nearly highest-recorded levels in the days to come.
In Austria, rescue services were liaising with regional governors and local councils to arrange the necessary evacuations. (Reuters)