Storm Boris sweeps through Europe – with at least six dead and thousands evacuated from their homes

15 September 2024, 14:35 | Updated: 15 September 2024, 14:36

Storm Boris has swept through Eastern Europe, leaving at least six dead and thousands evacuated from their homes due to flooding.

Another night of torrential rain across central Europe forced massive evacuations in the hardest hit areas.

A firefighter died after “slipping on stairs” while pumping out a flooded basement in an Austrian province, it was announced on Sunday.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that another person was presumed dead in floods in the south-west.

He said the situation is “dramatic” around the town of Klodzko, with some 25,000 residents, located in a valley in the Sudetes mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.

It came after four were killed in south eastern Romania on Saturday, with Galati being the region worst affected.

Mayor of the village Slobozia Conachi, Emil Dragomir, said: “This is a catastrophe of epic proportions.”

Meanwhile, Romania president Klaus Iohannis blamed climate change for the extreme conditions.

Meteorologists have warned the situation might get worse yet as waters in most rivers are rising and more heavy rain could return overnight.

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“We must continue to strengthen our capacity to anticipate extreme weather phenomena,” Mr Iohannis said.

“Severe floods that have affected a large part of the country have led to loss of lives and significant damage.

“We are again dealing with the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present throughout the European continent, with dramatic consequences on people.”

Hundreds of people have been rescued from 19 parts of Romania, emergency services said.

Meanwhile, in Glucholazy, Poland’s south western Opole region, rising waters overflowed a river embankment and flooded streets and houses.

Mayor Pawel Szymkowicz said “we are drowning” as he urged residents to evacuate to high ground.

In Poland’s second largest city, Krakow, sandbags are being handed out in a bid to protect homes.

Meanwhile, 50,000 homes have been left without power in the Czech Republic, with police reporting that four people are missing.

Three of them were in a car swept into a river in Lipova-Lazne.

Another man went missing after being swept away by floods in the southeast.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala warned that the country had “a tough weekend” ahead.

He added: “We have to be ready for worst-case scenarios.”

Flood barriers have been raised in Prague in preparation, with embankments having also been closed to the public.