The Czech Republic records its initial fatalities due to floods
In the Czech Republic, a first reported fatality due to flooding has been confirmed. Authorities are also searching for at least seven missing individuals. One person drowned in the Krasovka river, in the Bruntál district of Moravia-Silesia, as per police president Martin Vondrasek on public radio.
Three people are still unaccounted for following their car being swept away by a raging river near Jeseník in the Hrubý Jeseník mountains. The vehicle has not been found. Other missing individuals were swept into different waterways, including the Otava River. A man from a retirement home near the Polish border is also among the missing. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala describes the flooding as a "centennial flood," an occurrence that statistically happens once every hundred years.
Over the weekend, major cities like Jeseník, Opava, and Krnov experienced streets turning into raging torrents. Rescue workers in Jeseník used boats and helicopters to save hundreds of people. The city's mayor, located in a valley near the Polish border, stated, "It was an apocalypse, everywhere there's mud, everything is destroyed." The city's main square temporarily transformed into a vast body of water with vehicles floating on it. Several houses collapsed in the region, and landslides threatened once the water receded.
Alert Level at Its Highest in Königgrätz
There's no sign of any improvement. The flood wave on the March (Morava) River reached Litovel, about 200 kilometers east of Prague, where entire streets were submerged, according to the CTK news agency. Residents in the town of nearly 10,000 people were urged not to hinder rescue workers, with the mayor warning on social media, "In the next few hours, we expect a further increase in the water level of the river."
Water levels continued to rise in many other places. A flood warning was issued for the area around the city of Frýdlant in North Bohemia. In Hradec Králové (Königgrätz) on the Elbe River, the highest flood alert level was declared. The peak of the Elbe was not expected to reach Ústí nad Labem (Aussig an der Elbe) near the Saxon border until Wednesday, at around 7.65 meters above the zero point.
More Rain Expected
So far, there have been no major impacts in the municipality of Troubky in the Olomouc administrative region, unlike initial fears. The Becva (Betschwa) River has not yet overflowed. The town gained notoriety as a symbol of the 1997 flood disaster in Moravia, when nine people died and 150 houses were destroyed. More rain is expected across the Czech Republic on Monday, which could be heavy in the south.
The situation in neighboring Poland is likewise challenging, specifically in the southwest. Persistent rainfall near the Czech border has resulted in flooding, notably in the small town of Klodzko in Lower Silesia, resulting in one fatality. The village of Glucholazy in the Opole region has also been devastated by the floodwaters.
Romania is Largely Affected
Monday night, the small town of Nysa in the Opole region faced particularly severe flooding. The EMN news agency reported that water from the Glatzer Neiße, a tributary of the Oder, inundated the local district hospital's emergency room, leading to the evacuation of 33 patients, including children and pregnant women.
The flooding situation continues to be dire in Romania, with at least six lives lost primarily in the regions of Galati, Vaslui, and Iasi in the east of the country. Approximately 300 people were forced to evacuate, and over 6,000 farmhouses were damaged.
The victims are mainly the elderly, including two women of 96 and 86 years old. The highest flood warning level remains in effect until midday. Isolated villages are often the most impacted, causing residents to seek refuge on rooftops to avoid being swept away by the floodwaters. Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed.
The floodwaters from the Otava River have contributed to the missing individuals in the Czech Republic. Due to the continuous heavy rain, the flood alert level in Hradec Králové (Königgrätz) has been declared at its highest.
