A 38-year-old woman has been struck by lightning in Poland, local media reported on Sunday, as storms and flooding were wreaking havoc in parts of central Europe.
The woman suffered cardiac arrest following the incident on Saturday in the village of Jakuszyce, on the Czech border, and was taken to hospital with serious injuries, news site Onet.pl reported. Her condition is stable, it said.
Meanwhile, flooded roads caused major traffic disruptions in the city of Wrocław, some 120 kilometres to the north-east.
The Speedway Grand Prix of Poland, a popular motorsport event held at the city’s Olympic Stadium, was significantly delayed as the rain had submerged parts of the tracks and the pits, according to news site TVO Info.
In the neighbouring Czech Republic, temperatures as high as 36 degrees Celsius on Saturday were followed by severe thunderstorms and heavy rain.
The fire brigade was deployed more than 700 times by Saturday evening, as train tracks and roads were blocked by fallen trees and basements flooded.
Two people were rescued by firefighters using a boat in the town of Příbram, some 60 kilometres south-west of Prague, after they got stuck in their summer home due to flooding.
The storms were expected to also hit neighbouring Slovakia on Sunday, where authorities and meteorologists have warned of temperatures of up to 35 degrees.
