The BBC reported yesterday that a firefighter died during a flood rescue in Austria and one person drowned in Poland, as torrential rain caused by Storm Boris continued to wreak havoc across Central and Eastern Europe. In Romania, five people have died, while several remain unaccounted for in the Czech Republic. The Austrian province surrounding Vienna has reportedly been declared a disaster area, with its leaders speaking of "an unprecedented extreme situation". Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared a state of natural disaster.
According to the BBC, some of the worst rainfall has been in the Czech Republic, where some areas have seen around three months’ rainfall in just three days. Evacuations are under way and four people reportedly remain missing – three in a car which disappeared into a river in North Moravia, and one man who was swept into a flooded stream in South Moravia.
Several dozen police and firefighters in Prague were called to rescue a man who went swimming in the flooded Vltava at 7:00 am on Sunday.
On Saturday, police in North Moravia were called after three men were spotted wading into the flooded River Odra on paddleboards.
The mayor of Slobozia Conachi, a village in Romania's south-eastern Galati region, said 700 homes had been flooded, according to the BBC.
Four people were killed in Galati on Saturday, with a fifth death confirmed on Sunday.
In the Polish town of Stonie Slaski, a dam has been breached, releasing a torrent of water that has destroyed at least one house, the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management said.
In Krakow, Poland's second largest city, residents have been offered sandbags for flood protection.
Speaking from the town of Klodzko, one of the worst-affected areas, Poland’s Prime Minister Tusk said 1600 people in the district had been evacuated.
A total of 17,000 people in the area are without power, he said, and in parts Starlink satellites links are being used to maintain mobile phone signal and internet connections.
He added that a helicopter had been sent to help with rescue efforts in regional capital Wroclaw.
On Sunday, the mayor of Klodzko announced that his town had "lost the battle" against the floods, and that the situation had become "critical".
CNN reports that at least eight people have died after some of the heaviest rain in years hit Central and Eastern Europe, causing flooding and widespread disruption.
