Floods ravage Europe: Deaths in Poland and Austria, thousands evacuated in Czech Republic

Shafaq News/ Floods swept through Central Europe, claiming the lives of one person in Poland due to drowning and another during rescue operations in Austria.

Thousands have been evacuated in the Czech Republic and other countries as heavy rains continued across the region on Sunday.

Werner Kogler, Austria's Deputy Chancellor, announced on X that a firefighter dealing with floods was killed in Lower Austria, which was declared a disaster zone. The state surrounds the capital Vienna and borders the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Rivers in countries ranging from Poland to Romania have overflowed. In Romania, four people were found dead on Saturday after days of torrential rain.

Parts of the Czech Republic and Poland are facing the worst floods in nearly 30 years.

The floods in southwestern Poland have forced the evacuation of around 1,600 people, as relentless rainfall caused rivers to rise to record levels, submerging many towns and resulting in the death of one person by drowning.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after meeting with a crisis management team in the town of Kłodzko, "The situation is extremely tragic, particularly in the Kłodzko region."

Kłodzko, a town of about 25,000 residents, has been partially submerged. The river there has surpassed the record level seen during the devastating 1997 floods, which partially destroyed the town and claimed 56 lives across Poland.

Tusk urged residents to cooperate with rescue services where evacuation orders are issued.

In the Czech Republic, residents in border areas described the current floods as worse than any they had experienced before. The local fire service reported evacuating 1,900 people by Sunday morning and said many roads had been closed due to the flooding.

With more rain expected today and tomorrow, the situation is likely to worsen further.