Warsaw: The European Union has pledged billions of euros to help central Europe recover from severe floods, according to European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday, as the deluge has killed 24 people in several countries including Romania and Poland. The worst floods to hit central Europe in at least two decades have caused widespread damage, destroying bridges, submerging cars and leaving towns covered in mud and debris.
The flooding was caused by torrential rain that began last week and lasted for several days, causing rivers to burst their banks in several parts of the region. A low-pressure system named "Boris" caused the worst flooding in more than two decades from Romania to Poland over the past week, also bringing devastating floods in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region.
About 1,000 people had been evacuated overnight from their homes in Italy and national fire department said it carried out more than 500 rescue operations in Emilia-Romagna, including with the use of helicopters. Meanwhile, flood defences in Poland's third-largest city, Wroclaw, looked to have held firm on Thursday.
Situation in Poland and Czech Republic
Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said the death toll had risen to five in the hard-hit northeast Czech Republic, and that eight were still missing. That brings the death toll so far to 24 in the region. Authorities have also reported seven deaths each in Poland and Romania, and five in Austria.
In the two hardest-hit regions in the northeast Czech Republic, troops joined firefighters and other emergency officials to help residents with cleanup and recovery efforts. Army helicopters have been used to distribute humanitarian help while soldiers are building temporary bridges after many were destroyed in the flooding.
The flood wave that has inundated the Polish-Czech border region since the weekend reached Wroclaw overnight, but there were no signs of serious damage. "The urban system withstood and absorbed the main wave of the floods that have been hitting Lower Silesia and neighbouring regions for a week," local authorities said in a statement on Facebook.
Further to the south, in Hungary, flood waters continued to rise on Thursday as authorities shut down roadways, rail stations and ferries along the Danube River. In the capital, Budapest, water spilt over the city's lower quays and threatened to reach transport infrastructure like trams and metro lines. Nearly 6,000 professionals, including members of Hungary's water authority and military, have been mobilised to assist in flood preparations, said PM Viktor Orban.
EU promises aid to flood-hit regions
Von der Leyen said that 10 billion euros ($11.16 billion) would be made available from EU cohesion funds and that some of the conditions usually attached to such funds, such as co-financing by member states, would be lifted to make the response quicker. She also said that money from the EU's Solidarity Fund, which supports member states hit by natural disasters, would be used to rebuild infrastructure.
She also said that money from the EU's Solidarity Fund, which supports member states hit by natural disasters, would be used to rebuild infrastructure. "This is a moment of need, of... natural disaster and we have all to stand together to overcome the challenge." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told private broadcaster Polsat News that Poland could get 5 billion euros.
"What we need now is to quickly build, repair infrastructure, it will cost huge amounts of money, it would be tough to handle it from national budgets," said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, adding he was grateful for von der Leyen's concrete proposals for help. The country is holding regional elections this weekend and authorities said a satellite connection had been set up in places where mobile signal is lacking, to allow the vote to go ahead.
(with inputs from agencies)
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