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Rising Rivers Threaten Southern Poland Amid Flood Receding in Central Europe
In southwestern Poland, soldiers and volunteers were seen laying sandbags on Wednesday near overflowing rivers in the Wroclaw region. Their efforts aimed to protect homes and businesses following several days of severe flooding affecting multiple countries in Central Europe.
Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania have all been significantly impacted by the flooding due to a persistent low pressure system that triggered record rainfall starting last Thursday.
The flooding has resulted in tragic loss of life, with authorities confirming a total of 23 fatalities so far. The casualties include seven in both Poland and Romania, five in Austria, and four in the Czech Republic.
The European Union’s head office issued a statement on Wednesday, pointing to the dual crisis of floods in Central Europe and the raging wildfires in Portugal as evidence of an impending “climate breakdown.” According to officials, without immediate and significant intervention, these events could become commonplace.
Fortunately, the weather has taken a turn for the better, with warmer, sunnier conditions observed across the Czech Republic, Poland, and adjacent areas. Water levels have begun to recede, enabling both authorities and residents to start cleaning up debris left by the floods.
In Poland, firefighters have been engaged in pumping excess water from flooded streets and basements. Meanwhile, in Romania, approximately 1,000 firefighters have been deployed nationwide to help clean up the most affected regions, as noted by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations on their Facebook page.
Nevertheless, certain areas continue to be at risk, particularly in southwestern Poland. In Marcinkowice, close to Wroclaw, soldiers and local residents are actively laying sandbags to prepare for the possible overflow of the Olawa River, which feeds into the Oder River. The Oder is a critical waterway that originates in the Oder Mountains of the Czech Republic and flows northward through Poland and into Germany.
Artur Piotrowski, the community leader of Olawa, described the situation as challenging. He reported to the Polish state news agency PAP that two villages in a lower-lying area had been inundated since Monday, yet residents had refused to evacuate, choosing to stay despite the dangers.
A significant deployment of Polish soldiers is currently underway, with many engaged in evacuating both people and animals—including dogs and horses—from at-risk areas. In addition, the army has been distributing essential supplies such as food and drinking water. They also set up a field hospital in Nysa after local patients had to be evacuated earlier this week.
Experts had already been on alert for potential flooding issues related to the impending crest of the Oder River, specifically in cities like Opole, which has a population of approximately 130,000, and Wroclaw, with around 640,000 residents. Wroclaw has a history of devastating floods, notably the disastrous impacts of the 1997 floods.
Source: AP News
