UPDATE - 15 dead, tens of thousands displaced as Storm Boris lashes Central, Eastern Europe

UPDATES WITH LATEST DEATH TOLL; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; MINOR EDITS

By Merve Berker

Parts of Eastern and Central Europe are grappling with severe flooding that has claimed at least 15 lives and left tens of thousands displaced, media reported on Monday.

Extreme rainfall due to Storm Boris has lashed Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, southern Germany, and parts of Austria in recent days.

- Romania

In eastern Romania’s Galati County, the country’s worst-affected region, heavy rains have caused widespread damage, impacting about 5,000 homes and leaving at least 25,000 people without power.

Romania’s Department for Emergency Situations confirmed the recovery of six bodies, including three older women and one man over the past two days.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis lamented the situation, saying: "We are again facing the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present on the European continent, with dramatic consequences."

In 19 parts of the country, teams have rescued hundreds of people.

“This is a catastrophe of epic proportions,” The Guardian quoted Emil Dragomir, the mayor of Slobozia Conachi, a village in Galati where 700 homes had reportedly been flooded.

- Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, heavy rains for three consecutive days and flooding have predominantly affected the north, with over 50,000 houses losing power.

While authorities reported one dead, they also said seven people are missing in the country, according to The Guardian.

Flood risks remain critical for rivers like Odra, Opava, Branna, and Novohradka, particularly in Jeseniky and Pardubice, according to Radio Prague International.

Although water levels are dropping in the upper river courses, the flood wave continues downstream, threatening lower areas such as Uhretice and Chroustovice, it added.

“Evacuations are underway in Opava, Krnov, Ostrava, Jeseník, Frydlantsk and other places. Over 12,000 people were evacuated. A state of danger was declared in Frydlantska,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on X.

“In total, since the beginning of the flood, firefighters intervened in 7,884 incidents,” he stated.

“The risk of water and food contamination during floods is high,” he warned, calling on the citizens to “observe hygiene, drink only bottled water and do not use flooded food.”

- Austria

Austria has also been severely impacted, with 24 villages in Lower Austria declared "disaster zones" and evacuation orders issued while the death toll rose to three, the country’s Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler said on X.

“We have just received the terrible news of two more fatalities in Lower Austria,” he stated, expressing his “thoughts and deepest sympathy” for the relatives, families and friends of the deceased.

“The situation in the areas affected by the #Hochwasser (flood) remains very critical,” he warned, calling on the whole country to “follow the instructions of the emergency services on site.”

He had said on Sunday that a firefighter had died tackling flooding in Lower Austria, as authorities declared the province, which surrounds the capital, Vienna, a disaster area.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer noted on X: “The Austrian Armed Forces are deployed in the storm-hit regions wherever help is needed.”

“2,400 soldiers are on standby to help fill sandbags, evacuate people or carry out clean-up work,” he added.

Rail services in the eastern part of the country have been suspended, and several metro lines in Vienna were closed due to the threat of the Wien River overflowing, reported APA news agency.

Emergency services conducted around 5,000 interventions in Lower Austria, while Vienna saw about 150 firefighting operations to clear storm debris and pump out flooded cellars.

- Poland

One person drowned in the Klodzko region of Poland, bringing the death toll in the country to five, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

He said on X: “I have ordered the Minister of Finance to prepare funds for emergency aid and flood damage removal.”

“The Minister for European Affairs will apply for European aid,” he added.

He said he asked the defense minister to “send additional forces to the threatened areas.”

“After consultation with the relevant ministers and services, I commissioned the preparation of a regulation of the Council of Ministers on the introduction of a state of natural disaster,” the Polish prime minister said.

He also mentioned that Ukraine expressed solidarity with the country, while stressing “readiness to immediately send a hundred rescuers equipped with specialist equipment to fight the flood.”

About 1,600 people have been evacuated in Klodzko, according to The Guardian.

In the face of all these, Warsaw is expected to declare a state of natural disaster though it did not do so during previous difficulties such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the major floods of 1997 and 2010, according to the Polskie Radio.

- Hungary

In Budapest, officials raised forecasts for the Danube River to rise in the second half of this week to above 8.5 meters (27.9 feet), nearing a record 8.91m seen in 2013, according to The Guardian.

Zoltan Kovacs, the spokesperson for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said on X: “Amphibious tracked vehicles are en route from Szentes to Pilismarot to support flood defense efforts.”

“The Hungarian Defence Forces are playing a key role in the flood protection efforts, deploying various equipment,” he added, quoting the country’s defense minister. “Nothing is more important than the safety of the Hungarian people.”

“According to forecasts, one of the biggest floods of the past years is approaching Budapest but we are prepared to tackle it,” The Guardian quoted Budapest’s mayor, Gergely Karacsony, as saying.

- Slovakia

Authorities have declared a state of emergency in the country’s capital Bratislava, according to The Guardian.

Heavy rains are expected to continue throughout Monday and afterward.