Catastrophic flooding caused by Storm Boris has swept through central Europe, forcing the evacuation of an entire Polish city and pushing the death toll past 20.
In Nysa, a city of 44,000, officials ordered residents to flee for higher ground as floodwaters threatened to breach an embankment and release a cascade of water from a nearby lake.
Volunteers have been desperately trying to fortify the floodwalls.
The death toll from the severe floods, which began over the weekend, rose to at least 21 on Tuesday, with seven confirmed fatalities in Romania. Poland, Austria, and the Czech Republic were also among the hardest hit.
In Romania’s Galati region, where 700 homes in the village of Slobozia Conachi have been inundated, mayor Emil Dragomir described the situation as a “catastrophe of epic proportions”.
Two popular tourist cities, Hungary’s capital Budapest and Wroclaw in Poland, are bracing for flooding, with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban deploying soldiers to reinforce barriers along the Danube River.
Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, declared a state of natural disaster across the affected region of southern Poland.
Key points
- 81-year-old woman dies in Austria
- British Foreign Office warnings
Poland’s historic city readies buses for possible evacuations
15:00
Rachel Hagan
The city of Wroclaw has readied buses for possible evacuations and dropped sandbags from military helicopters to reinforce river embankments amid flooding fears.
The city said it expected the flood wave to peak there around Friday, though some had predicted that would happen sooner.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with a crisis team early Tuesday and said there are contradictory forecasts from meteorologists.
Weather warnings in place across Italy
14:30
Rachel Hagan
The Italian Meteorological Service has issued warnings for heavy rainfall, strong winds and intense storms from the early hours of this morning, lasting until Thursday.
The alerts stretch from northern coast of Emilia-Romagna to the south of the country.
Latest photos from the floods
13:53
Rachel Hagan
Croatia braces for ‘extremely rare’ rise in river levels
13:23
Rachel Hagan
Croatia is preparing for potentially dangerously high river levels because of heavy rainfall across the region.
The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service warns the Danube could experience an “extremely rare” water increase and plans are in place to put up flood barriers if necessary.
The BBC reports that experts expect the Danube, Europe’s second-longest river, to hit a record high although they don’t think it will burst its banks.
Field hospital to be built in Nysa, Poland
12:53
Rachel Hagan
A field hospital is to be set up in the Polish city of Nysa where some of the worst flooding has happened.
Gazeta Wyborcza reports that Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, deputy prime minister, said at a conference in Wrocław: “We have made a decision to launch a field hospital and set it up in Nysa.”
He said it will be fully operational later today.
Overnight, volunteers helped rescue workers heave sandbags to build up the broken embankment around the city of more than 40,000 people in southwestern Poland.
81-year-old woman dies in Austria
12:24
Rachel Hagan
Details are beginning to emerge about some of the 19 people who have been killed by the floods.
An 81-year-old woman from Würmla in Austria is the fifth person to die in the current flooding in Lower Austria.
According to chief inspector Johann Baumschlager she died in her flooded house and her body was discovered by emergency services on Tuesday morning.
What are my rights as a traveller?
12:13
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
The Independent has asked the main airlines flying to and from the region – British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air – whether they will allow passengers to fly home earlier without penalty.
Ryanair said: “Passengers have the option of making changes to their bookings online up to 2.5 hours prior to the scheduled departure time of the original or new flight.
“If a passenger is away or needs to return urgently, they can do so by contacting our customer service team who will try help any passengers looking to return as soon as possible.”
EasyJet said normal policies will be imposed – with a change fee and any difference in fare imposed. Such costs may be recoverable from a travel insurer, depending on the circumstances.
I have a flight booked to the area and want to switch destination or postpone my trip. Can I?
The airlines have been asked that question and again, in the absence of responses you must assume that you would lose some or all of your cash. The exception is if you are booked on a package holiday and the trip cannot go ahead as planned because of flooding. In that case, the organiser of the trip should provide a full refund.
I have a rental property booked – will I be able to claim a refund?
That depends on the terms that you agreed with the property owner, and whether they will allow any latitude because of the floods.
British Foreign Office warnings
12:05
Rachel Hagan
The British Foreign Office currently has the following warnings in place:
- Austria (east): Road closures and disruptions to public transport may occur in affected areas. Check road traffic information and public transport updates from Austrian Railways and Vienna public transport before you travel.
- Czech Republic: Heavy rain and flooding is causing severe disruption, especially in southern and eastern parts of the country.
- Poland: Heavy rain and flooding is causing severe disruption in the Lower Silesia (Dolnośląskie), Silesian (Śląskie) and Opolskie Voivodeships [counties] in southwest Poland. Check local conditions before you travel and follow the instructions of the Polish authorities if you are in these areas.
- Romania: Heavy rain and flooding is causing disruption in eastern Romania. Check local conditions before you travel and follow the instructions of the Romanian authorities if you are in these areas.
Polish train services disrupted
11:54
Rachel Hagan
Across Poland, several train routes have been suspended due to the flooding. Some services are still running with shortened routes and passengers have been advised to check their route before setting off.
Polish minister says climate change to blame for floods
11:50
Rachel Hagan
A Polish minister has said the extreme floods are not normal and blamed climate change for the devastation.
Urszula Sara Zielińska, deputy climate minister, told the BBC that more than 3,000 people have been evacuated across the country already.
She said after a devastating flood in 1997 it was said that natural disasters of that scale would “happen once every thousand years” but now we are seeing it happen just 26 years later.
Urszula said flooding of this severity is not normal and that “there is a clear cause to that and it’s called climate change.”