Polish city evacuates as floods batter central Europe

Reuters.com

The mayor of a Polish city has asked all 44,000 residents to evacuate, as widespread flooding continues to batter central Europe.
Nysa mayor Kordian Kolbiarz asked people to head for higher ground, citing the risk of an embankment breaching and releasing a cascade of water into the town from a nearby lake.
The death toll from the floods that hit over the weekend rose to at least 16 on Monday, with seven confirmed fatalities in Romania.
Budapest said it would close roads near the river Danube which runs through the Hungarian capital, citing the risk of flooding later this week.
It is worth getting to the top floor of the building immediately, because the wave may be several metres high.
This means that the whole town will be flooded,” Nysa Mayor Kolbiarz wrote.
Although conditions have stabilised in some places, others are bracing themselves for more disruption and danger from the floods, sparked by Storm Boris.
The river is rising by about a metre every 24 hours, with Budapest’s mayor offering residents a million sandbags to protect against floodwaters.
Thousands of people have been evacuted in Poland, including the personnel and patients of a hospital in the town of Nysa.
On Monday morning, the mayor of Paczków in south-west Poland appealed to residents to evacuate after water began overflowing in a nearby reservoir, endangering the town.

NEGATIVE

A Polish city’s mayor has ordered all 44,000 citizens to leave as widespread flooding continues to wreak havoc across central Europe.

Citing the possibility of an embankment collapsing and sending a cascade of water into the town from a nearby lake, Nysa mayor Kordian Kolbiarz urged residents to seek higher ground.

After seven confirmed deaths in Romania, the number of fatalities from the weekend’s flooding increased to at least 16 on Monday. Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland also reported casualties.

Budapest said it would close roads near the river Danube which runs through the Hungarian capital, citing the risk of flooding later this week.

“Please take yourself, your loved ones, and your belongings and leave. Since the wave might be several meters high, it is important to reach the building’s top floor as soon as possible. According to Nysa Mayor Kolbiarz, “this means that the entire town will be flooded.”.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland announced that the nation would apply for EU relief funds in addition to allocating one billion zloty (£197 million) for flood victims. A state of natural disaster has also been declared by his government.

While things have somewhat calmed down in some areas, others are preparing for additional chaos and risk due to the flooding caused by Storm Boris.

Local media in Slovakia reported that water levels had risen above 9 meters (30 feet) and were predicted to rise further due to the Danube River overflow, which resulted in flooding in the Old Town area of the capital, Bratislava.

Hungary is getting ready for impending flooding. On 500 km (310 miles) of the Danube, there are warnings in effect.

The mayor of Budapest is offering the city’s citizens a million sandbags as flood protection because the river is rising by around one meter every 24 hours.

In the Hungarian capital, starting Monday evening, some tram lines will not run and riverside roads will be blocked. Additionally, there have been cancellations of trains between Budapest and Vienna.

“Because of the severe weather and the continuous flooding in Hungary,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on X that he had delayed all of his foreign commitments.

The Czech Republic has had the highest total rainfall. Five times the monthly average of rainfall, or 473 mm (19 in), have fallen in the northeastern town of Jesenik since Thursday morning.

Bottles of drinking water were brought to the stranded villages by the Czech fire department, and residents were advised not to drink the water from their taps or wells because it was probably highly contaminated.

More precipitation has fallen in four days in the Austrian town of St Polten than in the entire 1950 autumn, which was the wettest on record.

The military has been called in to help areas affected by storms, according to Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Recovery funds worth €300 million (£253 million) will be made available, according to Austria’s Climate Ministry.

The federal elections are scheduled for September 29, which is less than two weeks away, and most parties have stopped their campaigning.

In eastern Romania, towns and villages were flooded. The inundations had a terrible effect, Slobozia Conachi Mayor Emil Dragomir informed the media.

“People are desperate, their entire life’s work is gone, and there were people who were left with just the clothes they were wearing. If you were here, you would cry instantly,” he said.

Many thousands of people, including the staff and patients of a hospital in the town of Nysa, have been evacuated from Poland. In many regions of the nation, train service has been suspended and major disruptions have been made to the roads.

The town of Paczków, in southwest Poland, was put in danger on Monday morning when water started spilling over a nearby reservoir, prompting the mayor to issue an evacuation order.

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