Thousands evacuate amid rising floodwaters in Czech Republic

Another night of torrential rain across central Europe has forced massive evacuations in the hardest hit areas in the Czech Republic, where floods reached extreme levels on Sunday.

Meteorologists have warned the situation might get worse yet as waters in most rivers are rising, the flood wave makes its way through the country, and more heavy rain could return overnight.

Authorities declared the highest flood warnings in almost 90 places across the country and in two north-eastern regions that recorded the biggest rainfall in recent days, including the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.

In the city of Opava, up to 10,000 people out of a population of some 56,000 have been asked to leave their homes for higher ground. Rescuers used boats to transport people to safety in a neighbourhood flooded by the raging Opava River.

“There’s no reason to wait,” Mayor Tomas Navratil told Czech public radio. He said the situation is worse than during the last devastating floods in 1997, known as the “flood of the century”.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the focus is on saving lives, and his government will meet on Monday to assess the damage.

Towns and villages in the Jeseniky mountains, including the local centre of Jesenik, have been inundated and isolated by raging waters that turned roads into rivers. The military has sent a helicopter to help with evacuations.

Four people who were swept away by waters are missing, police said.

About 260,000 households were without power on Sunday morning in the entire country while traffic was halted on many roads, including the major D1 highway.

Meanwhile in Austria, a firefighter died after “slipping on stairs” while pumping out a flooded basement in the town of Tulln.

Authorities declared the entire state of Lower Austria a disaster zone. The situation remains tense, especially at the reservoir of Ottenstein, which is expected to reach its maximum capacity on Sunday.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday that one person is presumed dead in floods in the south-west.

He said the situation is “dramatic” around the town of Klodzko, with some 25,000 residents, located in a valley in the Sudetes mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.

In Glucholazy, rising waters overflowed a river embankment and flooded streets and houses. Mayor Pawel Szymkowicz said “we are drowning”, and he urged residents to evacuate to high ground.

Several other central European nations have been hit by severe flooding, including Romania, where four people have died, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary, as a result of a low-pressure system from northern Italy dumping heavy rain in the wide region.

The weather change arrived following a hot start to September in the region, including in Romania.