Six confirmed fatalities have been reported across multiple countries in Europe due to drowning. Poland, Austria and Romania have each recorded deaths. Four people are currently missing in the Czech Republic. In Austria, a firefighter died while responding to rescue operations in the region of Lower Austria, where the flooding was severe.
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At least seven people have lost their lives due to the heavy rains and floods across the region. In Poland, one person drowned in Klodzko County on Sunday.
A firefighter in Austria died while working in flooded areas. In Romania, five people were confirmed dead as of Sunday with more feared missing. Emergency authorities found the victims in their homes or yards after rescue attempts.
Austria declared a disaster area in several regions due to flooding and heavy snow in Tirol. The capital, Vienna was also heavily impacted with metro lines shut down and emergency services responding to thousands of calls.
Poland, the worst-hit areas include the Klodzko region, where rivers overflowed and the army was called in to assist with evacuations and rescue operations.
Galati County in southeast Romania was devastated with four confirmed deaths and 5,000 homes damaged.
In Czech Republic, entire towns were submerged as rivers overflowed. Other affected countries include Slovakia and Hungary.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in affected areas in Poland, Romania and Austria. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the situation is dramatic, with rivers in some regions reaching high levels.
In the Czech Republic, multiple towns were evacuated and thousands of homes were left without power as the rain continued.
Austria saw its eastern region and parts of Vienna submerged under floodwaters with authorities declaring disaster zones in 24 villages in Lower Austria.
In Poland, the Biala River in the Klodzko region rose to 6.7 meters, exceeding the high level and breaking records set in 1997.
Romania experienced record rainfall with some areas seeing 160 liters of water per square meter. The Danube River overflowed in several regions. Czech Republic faced similar issues with rivers like the Bela in Mikulovice bursting their banks.
A dam in the south of the country also failed. Hungary is bracing for rising water levels along the Danube, with authorities on high alert as the river threatens to exceed the 8.5-meter mark, approaching the 2013 record.
Roads and rail services across Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic were disrupted, with train services suspended and highways closed.
In Poland, the Golkowice border crossing with the Czech Republic was shut down due to rising waters and the train line connecting Prudnik and Nysa was halted.
Several metro lines in Vienna were out of service and Vienna’s flood relief systems, built decades ago, were put to the test. In Romania, more than 25,000 people lost power as infrastructure was impacted by the flooding.
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Across the region, floods have disrupted transportation, power and communication. Around 260,000 households in the Czech Republic were left without power as of Sunday morning.
The major D1 highway in the Czech Republic was closed. In Austria, parts of Lower Austria were completely isolated with roads turned into rivers.
Polish authorities reported power and communication outages in many areas with some regions considering using Starlink to maintain connectivity in isolated zones.
Austria, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic have all declared states of emergency in response to the devastating floods.
Prime Ministers from these countries, including Poland’s Donald Tusk and the Czech Republic’s Petr Fiala, have said citizens to prioritize safety and evacuate when necessary.
Meteoalarm has issued red alerts for several regions including parts of Poland, Germany, Slovakia and Austria.
Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis stated that the continent is again facing the effects of climate change, calling for stronger measures to anticipate and tackle extreme weather.
The unseasonal nature of the storm has concerns with temperatures in Austria reaching 30°C (86°F) last week before plummeting, resulting in snowfalls of up to a meter in some areas.
Hungary’s capital, Budapest is preparing for the potential of a record-breaking flood along the Danube.
Rescue teams including firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, have been working around the clock to evacuate people from their homes and provide aid to those affected.
Firefighters have intervened thousands of times in Austria particularly in Vienna and Lower Austria, clearing debris from roads and pumping water from flooded basements.
In Poland, around 1,600 people were evacuated from the town of Klodzko and efforts are ongoing to protect more than 25,000 residents in flood-prone areas.
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