Europe floods: Emergency services struggle as rivers rise

Polish rail operator PKP has suspended train services to the neighboring Czech Republic due to severe flooding. 

Trains from the Czech Republic to Poland have been canceled until further notice, the state-owned company said. 

Trains from Poland to the Czech Republic will stop at the last station before the border. 

Both southwestern Poland and large parts of the Czech Republic have been affected by flooding following heavy rainfall.

A firefighter battling flooding in Lower Austria was killed, Austrian Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler said on social media platform X, as authorities declared the northeastern state, which surrounds Vienna and borders the Czech Republic and Slovakia, a disaster area.

The firefighter was pumping water from a cellar when he died, the state's crisis management team said. 

"We are experiencing difficult and dramatic hours in Lower Austria," said state Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner.

"For many people in Lower Austria, these will be the hardest hours of their lives," she added. "We will do everything we can to hold back the water and protect the country and its people."

Emergency crews responded to nearly 5,000 calls overnight in the state of Lower Austria, where flooding left many residents stranded in their homes. 

The Wien river, which runs through Vienna, was flowing fast and high on Sunday, but its meter-high walls were still holding in most places. 

Vienna's subway system was disrupted, and Austrian rail operator ÖBB suspended train service on a line south of the Danube. 

One person drowned and 1,600 people were evacuated in the Klodzko district of southwestern Poland as local rivers rose to record levels after days of heavy rainfall.

"The situation is very dramatic, it's most dramatic in Klodzko county," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters on Sunday after meeting with the crisis management team in the town of Klodzko.

Some 17,000 households in the district were left without power, and cellphone service was down in some areas. Road access to the towns of Ladek Zdroj and Stronie Slaskie was virtually cut off, Tusk said.

Klodzko, a town of 25,000, was partially submerged as the local river rose nearly 7 meters (about 22 feet), well above the alert level of 240 and surpassing a record set during heavy flooding in 1997 that partially damaged the town and claimed 56 lives in Poland.

Authorities declared the state of Lower Austria, surrounding Vienna, a disaster zone due to severe flooding from continuous heavy rain on Sunday.

Lower Austria Deputy Governor Stephan Pernkopf warned of "massive floods" and potential landslides in some places, according to the APA news agency, adding that "the situation is worsening due to the massive rainfall across the country." 

Around Vienna, roads are flooded and emergency services had to step in to rescue people trapped in their homes overnight. 

One person was rescued from floodwaters of the Pielach River, west of Vienna.

Several municipalities issued evacuation orders, with rubber dinghies pressed into use.

In Vienna, parts of the underground lines were suspended.
 

A dam in southwest Poland overflowed late Saturday after heavy rainfall as flooding continued to devastate Central Europe amid historic extreme weather. 

Despite efforts to drain water and prevent the surge the dam in Międzygórze overflowed, leading to evacuations from nearby villages. 

The dam, built in the early 20th century, is near the Czech border.

Since Friday morning, southwest Poland has received more rain than during the 1997 millennium flood, with alert levels surpassed at 47 gauging stations nationwide.
 

Emergency responders in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Austria struggled to manage rising waters even as Romania reported four flood-related deaths on Saturday amid unprecedented heavy rainfall. 

Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, southern Germany and parts of Austria are expected to see more heavy rain.

Some areas in Austria have been declared disaster zones and residents evacuated from there.

In Czech Republic, the north-western administrative region of Usti nad Labem bordering Germany is worst affected, with more than 20,000 households without power. The highest flood alert level has been issued in approximately 35 locations across the Czech Republic. Authorities also suspended all shipping traffic.

Krakow in Poland was hit hard, with residents being evacuated and public transport disrupted.

On Friday, when authorities appealed to residents to stock up on supplies, Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak had warned that "the worst is yet to come."

ss/xx (AP, Reuters, dpa)