‘Catastrophe’ as Central Europe deals with deadly floods

WARSAW: A firefighter has died during a flood rescue in Austria and one person has drowned in Poland, as torrential rain caused by Storm Boris continues to wreak havoc across Central and Eastern Europe.

The Austrian province surrounding Vienna has been declared a disaster area, with its leaders speaking of “an unprecedented extreme situation”.

In Romania, where four people were killed on Saturday, the prime minister says two others are missing, while several remain unaccounted for in the Czech Republic.

Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk confirmed one death on Sunday as he urged stricken residents to cooperate with rescuers.

In the Czech Republic, flooding has led to evacuations and 51,000 households in the country’s northern areas have been hit by power outages, Czech power company CEZ says. Flood barriers have gone up in the capital Prague.

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The floods caused by Storm Boris proved deadly in Romania on Saturday, where four people were killed during floods in the south-eastern region of Galati.

“We are again facing the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present on the European continent, with dramatic consequences,” Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Saturday.

Extreme precipitation is becoming more likely in Europe, as across much of the world, due to climate change.

A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, which can lead to heavier rainfall.

The mayor of Slobozia Conachi, a village in Romania’s Galati region, said 700 homes had been flooded.

“This is a catastrophe of epic proportions,” Emil Dragomir said.