Communities in several Central and Eastern European countries flooded recently following heavy rains and snow from Storm Boris. Affected countries include Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Thousands of people have been evacuated; at least 22 people are dead, and several are still missing. Tens of thousands of people are without power.
In many communities, Storm Boris dropped a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours, beginning Sept. 13 and continuing for several days. Due to ground saturation, snow melts and paths of rivers, additional places may still experience flooding.
(Photo: Flooding in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Sept. 16, 2024. Credit: Police of the Czech Republic Facebook)
A dam in the Czech Republic burst its banks, flooding several communities downstream. The country received three months of rain in three days. Some regions in Italy are expected to receive two to three months of rainfall between Sept. 17 and Sept. 20.
Some regions of Austria received five times the average September rainfall in just a few days, leading to 12 broken dams and massive power outages.
Although emergency efforts are ongoing, those in flood-affected areas are also preparing for more rain. The coming days are critical, as the swollen rivers are sending water downstream.
In Romania, 19 localities were affected, and 700 homes were reported to have been destroyed in one county. The Danube River was described as “swallowing riverside roads.”
EU crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic warned that the eastern floods and wildfires in Portugal on the bloc’s western fringe showed that “the global reality of climate breakdown has moved into the everyday lives of Europeans.”
Source link : https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disasters/2024-central-and-eastern-europe-floods/
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Publish date : 2024-09-19 07:00:00
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