Image: This aerial photograph taken on September 15, 2024 shows a view of the flooded city centre in Glucholazy, southern Poland. © Sergei Gapon, AFP
By Smartencyclopedia & Agencies
Glucholazy, Poland – As torrential rains battered Central and Eastern Europe, the region faces devastating flooding, with rising rivers sweeping away cars, submerging homes, and forcing thousands to flee. In the small Polish village of Glucholazy, Zofia Owsiaka, 65, watched in fear as the Biala River’s swollen waters surged past.
“Water is the most powerful force of nature. Everyone is scared,” she told AFP, her eyes glued to the rushing currents, fearful of what might come next.
In the nearby Czech Republic, police reported that four people were missing on Sunday. Three individuals in the northeastern town of Lipova-Lazne were swept away in a car by the floodwaters, and another man disappeared after being carried off by surging waters in the southeast.
The situation escalated when a dam burst its banks in southern Czechia, flooding towns and villages downstream, further worsening the crisis.
Romanian Flooding Tragedy
Romania also faced severe flooding, particularly in the southeastern region of Galati, where four people tragically lost their lives on Saturday. Emergency services recovered their bodies in an area that saw over 5,000 homes damaged. The deluge has devastated the local population.
“We are again facing the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present on the European continent, with dramatic consequences,” Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis remarked grimly.
Authorities have mobilized emergency services to rescue hundreds of people across 19 parts of the country. Romanian rescue teams have released footage showing entire villages along the Danube River submerged.
“This is a catastrophe of epic proportions,” said Emil Dragomir, the mayor of Slobozia Conachi, where some 700 homes were flooded.
Austria and Slovakia Declared Disaster Areas
Further west, parts of Austria have also been declared a natural disaster zone. The Tyrol region experienced a shocking turn of events, with areas blanketed by up to a metre (three feet) of snow, an extraordinary occurrence for mid-September when temperatures reached a balmy 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) just a week ago.
Rail services were suspended in Austria’s east on Sunday, and Vienna’s metro lines shut down as the city’s Wien River threatened to overflow. Emergency services responded to nearly 5,000 incidents in Lower Austria overnight as residents became trapped in their homes. Vienna itself saw about 150 firefighting interventions, primarily to clear roads blocked by storm debris and to pump floodwaters out of basements.
Meanwhile, neighboring Slovakia declared a state of emergency in its capital, Bratislava, as the rainstorms showed no signs of stopping. Heavy rains are predicted to continue pounding the region until at least Monday, raising concerns of further damage in countries like Poland and the Czech Republic.
As climate change continues to exacerbate the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the people of Central and Eastern Europe face a long and uncertain road to recovery.