Skip next section Thousands evacuate homes in Czech Republic
09/16/2024September 16, 2024
Thousands evacuate homes in Czech Republic
Thousands of people have been asked to leave their homes in the northeast of the following heavy rainfall in recent days.
As many as 10,000 people out of a population of around 56,000 in the city of Opava have been asked to move to safety .
“There’s no reason to wait,” Mayor Toma·Navratil told Czech public radio, saying that things were worse than during the inundation known as the “flood of the century” in 1997.
Further evacuations have taken place in Krnov, which was almost completely flooded, as well as Cesky Tesin, Ostrava and Bohumin.
Raging waters in towns and villages in the Jeseniky mountains, including the local center of Jesenik, have also forced people out of their homes, with the military sometimes employing helicopters to take residents to safety.
“We have to focus on saving lives,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala told Czech public television on Sunday, warning that the worst “is not behind us yet.” His government was set to meet Monday to assess the damages.
https://p.dw.com/p/4keXO
Skip next section At least eight dead as Central Europe battles severe flooding
09/16/2024September 16, 2024
At least eight dead as Central Europe battles severe flooding
Wide regions in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania have been inundated after days of heavy rainfall, while Slovakia and Hungary are possibly also facing flooding in the coming days.
Six people have died in Romania and one each in Austria and Poland as rivers broke their banks, putting streets and houses under water.
Tens of thousands of people have evacuated their homes, with the northeast of the Czech Republic and the northeastern Austrian state of Lower Austria particularly affected.
In the eastern German state of Saxony, authorities are also bracing for flooding, with the level of the Elbe river expected to peak on Tuesday afternoon at 7.5 meters (24.6 feet) in Schöna, near the border to the Czech Republic.
That measurement would trigger the highest alarm level in the area, and the state flood center said dams could overflow or break with catastrophic effect.
The state capital of Dresden, which also lies on the Elbe, is at risk of flooding as well. Authorities there will set up mobile barriers on Monday to protect the historic city center.
Experts say that the Earth’s hotter atmosphere as a result of human-caused climate change is making such extreme weather events more likely.
tj/rmt (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
https://p.dw.com/p/4kedi
The post Europe floods: More rain forecast as thousands evacuated appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
