Germany Flooding in Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic
While there has only been minor flooding in Germany so far, the flood situation has already worsened in several neighboring countries.
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk called Sunday night a "dramatic challenge". A dam there overflowed in the evening. In Austria, dozens of places have been declared disaster areas. The Czech Republic is also affected. At least four people lost their lives in Romania.
In several places in Poland, more rain had already fallen than during the so-called millennium flood in 1997, said Tusk. In view of the rising water levels of many rivers in south-western Poland, he appealed to citizens to get to safety in good time.
The situation at a dam in the Glatzer Snow Mountains on Poland's border with the Czech Republic was critical. "The dam in Miedzygorze is overflowing. Although water has been released, it has reached its maximum level! The water inflow is huge," wrote the Lower Silesian municipality of Bystryca Klodzka on X. According to the water management authority, residents of low-lying villages were evacuated.
Due to the threat of flooding, evacuations were also extended in the Czech Republic. In Opava on the border with Poland, thousands of people had to be evacuated to safety, as the authorities announced on Saturday evening. Hundreds of people also had to leave their homes in other places in the region.
A reservoir in Lower Austria threatens to overflow
In Austria, the situation is particularly tense in the Waldviertel region of Lower Austria, north of Vienna. The Kamp, a tributary of the Danube, has already flooded massively there. The deputy governor of Lower Austria, Stephan Pernkopf, spoke of the "magnitude of a hundred-year flood event". This means that such conditions only occur once every 100 years on a long-term average.
Further rainfall was also expected on Sunday night. The Ottenstein am Kamp reservoir is threatening to overflow. According to Chancellor Karl Nehammer, the situation is coming to a head. The military is ready to provide support. 42 municipalities were declared disaster areas due to the risk of flooding - in the early evening there were still 24.
The Danube in Austria is expected to flood at a level that only occurs once every 30 years on a long-term average. The water levels are expected to peak on Monday night.
It continues to rain in parts of Germany
In Germany, there is minor flooding after storms with heavy rainfall in south-eastern Bavaria. According to the German Weather Service, the rainfall on the edge of the Alps is expected to subside by Sunday morning. The police in Rosenheim said late on Saturday evening that they were not aware of any major incidents in connection with the weather. A few streams had burst their banks and roads had been flooded.
Regarding the outlook, the meteorologists said: "From Sunday lunchtime in Saxony and parts of Bavaria from the east, prolonged rainfall will resume." In eastern Saxony, rainfall of between 30 and 50 liters per square meter is expected between Sunday and Monday afternoon.
According to the authorities, rainfall in the Czech Republic and Poland could also lead to flooding there and in Brandenburg. "If the predicted high rainfall continues, a flood wave is likely to form on the Lausitzer Neisse on Sunday to Monday and on the Oder and Elbe from the middle of next week," said a spokeswoman for the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment.
Bridge debris removed from the Elbe
The Saxon state capital of Dresden expects the Elbe to reach a level of four meters in the morning, which is alert level 1. The normal level is around two meters. In the coming week, the highest alert level 4 could even apply. The authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the seven meters could be exceeded.
The debris from the partially collapsed Carola Bridge over the Elbe in Dresden was therefore cleared away under high pressure. On Saturday evening, the first major demolition work on the part of the bridge on the bank facing Neustadt was completed. The city wanted to prevent water from building up on the debris and causing additional flooding.
