Central & Eastern Europe Battered By 'Heaviest Rain In Decades', 4 Dead In Romania

A slow-moving low-pressure system has brought a month's worth of rain to several of Europe’s historic capitals, including Vienna in Austria, Bratislava in Slovakia and Prague in the Czech Republic.

At least four people died in Romania's southeastern region of Galati on Saturday as rivers surged after heavy rainfall — described in a CNN report as the heaviest in decades — battered central and eastern Europe. A slow-moving low-pressure system named Storm Boris has brought a month's worth of rainfall to several of Europe’s historic capitals, including Vienna in Austria, Bratislava in Slovakia and Prague in the Czech Republic, CNN reported. 

According to Reuters, tens of thousands of houses in Romania and the Czech Republic were left without power, with more rain forecast for the coming days. Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, southern Germany and parts of Austria are also likely to continue to receive heavy rain, according to weather forecasts.

In Romania, military boats and planes were deployed to ferry people to safer areas, and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said the current priority is to prevent loss of life, reported BBC.

Since Thursday, parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have been hit by high winds and unusually fierce rains. The flood barriers in Prague have been raised, and, in parts of Poland, residents have been evacuated, the report stated.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk sought to reassure the public that the weather forecast was not that dire, and emphasised that the threat didn’t extend to the entire country, BBC reported. 

In the Czech Republic, where the highest-level flood alert has been declared for 38 locations, significant flooding is expected to continue. Authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations for some areas. Rescue authorities shared images and videos of flooded streets in the southern Benesov nad Cernou municipality, where two women who didn’t follow the evacuation order were rescued by boat, the BBC report added.

In Germany, the eastern and southeastern states were reported to be bracing for flooding. According to CNN, warnings have been issued in Saxony. Incessant heavy rain is expected in the German state of Bavaria as well.

Meanwhile, in Austria, heavy rainfall has caused river levels to rise, prompting rescue services to be dispatched to various parts of the country overnight. Several regions are expecting 10-20 cm of rain in a matter of days, BBC reported. Last month, the country experienced its hottest August since records began to be maintained.