Storm Boris unleashes central Europe flooding, toll hits 15

Flooding sparked by Storm Boris in central Europe has burst dams, knocked out power and killed at least 15 people, authorities said Monday as some communities were cut off four days into the disaster.

High winds and unusually heavy rainfall have hit swathes of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia since Friday.

“I have lived here for 16 years, and I have never seen such flooding,” Judith Dickson, who lives in Austria’s Sankt Poelten city, told the national broadcaster ORF.

Experts say climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activities is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as torrential rains and floods.

The rains from Boris have flooded streets and submerged entire neighborhoods in some places, while shutting down public transport and electricity in others.

‘Dramatic’

In Austria, a 70-year-old and 80-year-old were found dead in their flooded homes in two communities in Lower Austria, the worst-hit province, police said.

One firefighter died over the weekend while responding to the flooding that authorities have described as “dramatic”.

Parts of Austria have been inundated since Thursday by five times the average amount of rain the country gets for the entire month of September, according to forecaster Geosphere.

The flooding has broken 12 dams, with muddy rivers raging, while thousands of households were without electricity and water in Lower Austria state, authorities said.

Several communities also remain cut off and hundreds of people have been evacuated by helicopter from car roofs and other places.

“Because the rain was so extreme we have a hole in our ceiling at home now,” Lea, a 18-year-old Viennese student who declined to give her full name, told AFP.

The flooding has forced a river cruise ship with 142 people aboard—mostly Swiss tourists—to dock in Vienna, the Swiss-based company Thurgau Travel said.

‘Nightmare’

The Czech Republic and Poland have also reported deaths, evacuations and significant destruction in the worst-hit areas.

One person drowned in a swollen river close to Bruntal in the Czech Republic’s northeast, while authorities have recorded seven people missing, according to police.

In the eastern Czech city of Krnov, Eliska Cokreska, a 76-year-old pensioner, described the destruction.

“All pavements are destroyed, everything’s toppled here, everything’s broken around the shop… it’s a nightmare,” she told AFP.

Polish police updated the disaster’s death toll to four—up from one previously—adding however that the exact causes of death still needed to be clarified.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced one billion zloty ($260 million) in aid for those hit by the storm, which has forced thousands to be evacuated from their homes.

While the water in some cities, such as Klodzko, is starting to recede, revealing destruction and desolation, more flooding was feared in the north.

A video shot in Klodzko showed water covering a debris-strewn street with shop windows destroyed.

Water has also submerged the town of Glucholazy on the Polish-Czech border with many residents taking refuge in a school.

“The police came for the first time on Friday but we stayed at home because we were convinced that nothing would happen,” Joanna Polacasz, who was sheltering at a school, told AFP.

“This flood is the worst ever in Glucholazy. We are trying to talk to people, support them, offer them tea and, above all, show them that they are not alone,” said Paulina Grzesiowska-Nowak, a Red Cross rescuer.

‘Fury of nature’

The flooding death toll in Romania—where people climbed on to roofs to escape the water—has climbed to seven, according to rescuers.

“Compared to 2013 the amount of water was almost three times bigger. It was hard to handle that kind of fury of nature,” Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu told reporters on Monday.

Hungary has deployed more than 350 soldiers to reinforce flood barriers as the Danube and rivers along its basin are expected to surge.

© 2024 AFP