WARSAW, Poland, 17th September, 2024 (WAM) -- Exceptionally heavy rainfall pounding Central Europe has prompted deadly flooding in the region, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
The flooding has swamped parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has unleashed record-high rains for days, and it is expected to affect Slovakia and Hungary later in the week.
So far 16 people have been reported killed — seven people in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Austria.
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting and later declared a disaster in flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuation and rescues. He also said the government would provide 1 billion zlotys (US$260 million) in immediate payouts to victims.
Police in the Czech Republic said that a woman and two men drowned in the northeast, which has been pounded by record rainfall since Thursday.
Romanian authorities said Monday that another person died in the eastern county of Galati, bringing the total number of deaths there to seven.
One death previously was reported in Austria.
Authorities in the Czech Republic declared an emergency in two northeastern regions, including in the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.
In Hungary, the mayor of Budapest warned residents that the largest floods in a decade were expected to hit the capital later this week, with the waters of the Danube River set to breach the city’s lower quays by Tuesday morning.