Emergency responders in the Czech Republic and Poland were grappling with flooding on Saturday while Austria declared some areas disaster zones amid historic rainfall in central Europe and as forecasters warned that worse is ahead.
The first villages were evacuated in the Czech Republic and Poland, and communities in Austria have been declared disaster areas.
In Romania, at least four people died in the floods after heavy rainfall.
Emergency forces in the Czech Republic and Poland, along with parts of Austria, have been preparing for severe weather since Friday.
Heavy rains in the Czech Republic led the Elbe river to rise, with the Czech weather service reporting up to 170 millimetres of precipitation in the worst affected regions in the previous 24 hours.
Authorities have issued the highest flood alert level in around 35 locations, Czech news agency CTK reported.
More than 60,000 households have been left without electricity, CTK also reported, citing energy suppliers.
The north-western administrative region of Usti nad Labem bordering Germany is worst affected, with more than 20,000 households temporarily affected by power outages due to trees falling on overhead powerlines amid the strong winds.
In Prague, preparations for the expected flooding of the Vltava river were in full swing, with flood barriers being erected along the river banks. Shipping traffic has been suspended.
A hospital in Brno was evacuating 180 patients to other facilities, the management said. Ambulance services and the fire brigade helped transport patients as the Svratka River continues to rise and water entered the basement where the power supply is located.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the Spindleruv Mlyn resort in the Giant Mountains recommended all tourists and visitors leave town as the Elbe river looks set to burst its banks and the access road could be flooded.
The highest flood alert level was also in effect at more than 40 other gauging stations nationwide with areas around Jesenik in the Altvater Mountains in the east and Frydlant in northern Bohemia worst affected.
The authorities declared an emergency situation in the eastern region of Moravian-Silesia and a flow rate of 800 cubic metres of water per second was expected in Prague during the course of the day.
Water levels in rivers in the Czech Republic are expected to rise further over the weekend, meteorologists warned, with the peak expected in Prague on Sunday morning.
Poland hit by flooding
Across the border in south-western Poland, Krakow is also struggling after the heavy rainfall, and city officials offered people sandbags at 28 locations to protect their homes.
Public transport in Krakow was temporarily disrupted after several underpasses in the centre were flooded and trams and buses were temporarily diverted.
In Jarnoltowek, near Mikulovice, meteorologists recorded rainfall reaching 161.5 millimetres, leading its mayor to order the evacuation of the village and two further communities along the Zloty Polok river.
Some 400 residents of the nearby village of Glucholazy also had to be evacuated. Interior Minister Tomasz Simoniak visited the scene, posting pictures of rescue efforts on X.
Some 100 firefighters and 60 police officers had been deployed to the village, he said.
“The situation has come to a head in just a few minutes. We really don’t have much time,” Simoniak warned after a meeting of the crisis management team in Nysa. “The next 24 to 36 hours will be the most difficult.”
Some of the residents of the village of Morow also had to be evacuated because the Mora river burst its banks there. The fire department responded to a total of 400 calls in the region.
Since Friday morning, more rain has fallen in south-west Poland than during the so-called millennium flood of 1997, and the alert level has been exceeded at 47 gauging stations across the country.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk appealed to citizens in the evening to get to safety in good time.
Once-in-a-century floods expected in Austria
Austrian emergency authorities declared 12 municipalities to be disaster zones after persistent heavy rainfall.
In the Waldviertel region, around 120 kilometres north-west of Vienna, the floods are expected to reach levels generally seen only once in a century.
“The coming hours will be the moment of truth for flood protection and a massive test for our emergency services and many of our fellow citizens,” said governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner. “In the Waldviertel region in particular, we expect challenges of historic proportions.”
The emergency services are preparing to evacuate people to safety as a precaution amid fears the Ottenstein reservoir could overflow. If this were the case, it would cause considerable flooding along the Kamp, a tributary of the Danube.
Amid the rainfall, the ground is completely saturated, while the area is also being battered by heavy winds.
Parts of eastern and southern Germany have also been battered by heavy rainfall, with the German Weather Service forecasting more storms to come.
