Thousands of people have been evacuated from in the eastern region of Moravia in the Czech Republic, and more than 260,000 are now without power.
Storm Boris has swept by central and eastern Europe with rainfalls rising river levels and causing flash floods in dozens of areas across the country.
In the Czech Republic, more than 260,000 households woke up on Sunday morning without power according to the Czech power companies ČEZ and E.ON. With the most eastern region of Moravian-Silesia enduring the worst power-cut, as 114,000 customers were affected.
Thousands have been evacuated in the Moravian-Silesian region. In Krnov large parts of the town, including the centre, were underwater. “We won’t know the extent of the damage until daylight, but there are no reports of injuries or casualties,” said city spokesperson Dita Círová. The Opava River has risen from one metre to nearly five metres, with a third-level flood alert in effect.
On Saturday, in the second biggest city Brno, more than 180 patients were evacuated from the Brothers of Mercy Hospital to other facilities, according to the hospital management.
Strong winds caused trees and branches to fall onto power lines downing several utility poles.
Several towns and villages have been affected, including the village of Mikulovice in the north-east, which hosts around 2,500 inhabitants and has seen its houses and roads flooded.
According to local media, firefighters have responded to nearly 6,000 incidents in the last three days, severely impacting road and rail transportation. About 40 sections of railway tracks, especially in the Jesenicko area, are closed due to flooding, with the main Prague-Ostrava rail corridor at Studénka station heavily affected.
Czechia’s Prime Minister Petr Fiala had announced after meeting with emergency services earlier this week that the country needs “to be ready for the worst case scenarios”.