Volunteers on Tuesday strengthened defenses to contain rivers in the Polish town of Nysa, one of dozens of central European cities inundated by devastating floods that have killed at least 19 people.
In the Czech Republic rivers were still in flood, in Slovakia and Hungary the Danube was in flood, and parts of Austria and Romania were also flooded with water.
The border areas between Poland and the Czech Republic were among the hardest hit last weekend, when debris-filled rivers devastated historic towns, collapsing bridges and destroying homes.
The floods killed seven people in Romania, where the waters have receded since last weekend, four in Poland, five in Austria and three in the Czech Republic. Tens of thousands of Czech and Polish homes were still without electricity or drinking water.
During the night, volunteers helped rescuers lift sandbags to rebuild the broken embankment around Nysa, a town of more than 40,000 in southwestern Poland.
National fire chief Mariusz Feltynowski said on Tuesday that the Nysa landfill had been sealed off and that military helicopters had joined the operation to unload sandbags.
Some residents returned to check that their homes were safe after Monday’s evacuation, despite assurances from Prime Minister Donald Tusk that authorities would act “mercilessly” against looters.
“(They) assured us that the services will take care of our belongings and property. But we are afraid (…) because we are already hearing that the looters have become active,” said Sabina Jakubowska, 45, a resident of Nysa. Reuters.
Poland has declared a state of disaster in the area and allocated 1 billion zloty ($260 million) for flood victims.
Historic Wroclaw, Poland’s third city, was preparing for the peak of the waters along the Odra River.
“We have buses available if there is a need to resume,” Mayor Jacek Sutryk said at a crisis meeting. “Today we will also reinforce other dams, also in the Odra River basin.”
Source: Terra
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