'Catastrophe' as Central Europe deals with deadly floods

Emergency services are shoring up flood defences successful Central and Eastern Europe aft torrential rainfall swelled rivers and damaged thousands of homes.

Storm Boris proved deadly successful Romania, wherever 4 radical were killed during floods successful the south-eastern portion of Galati.

In the Czech Republic, flooding has led to evacuations and 51,000 households successful the country's bluish areas person been deed by powerfulness outages, Czech powerfulness institution CEZ says. Flood barriers person gone up successful the superior Prague.

Poland besides evacuated immoderate radical from Glucholazy, a municipality adjacent the Czech border, aft a stream burst its banks.

"We are again facing the effects of clime change, which are progressively contiguous connected the European continent, with melodramatic consequences," Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said connected Saturday.

Extreme precipitation is becoming much apt successful Europe, arsenic crossed overmuch of the world, owed to clime change.

A warmer ambiance tin clasp much moisture, which tin pb to heavier rainfall.

• How clime alteration worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods

The politician of Slobozia Conachi, a colony successful Romania's Galati region, said 700 homes had been flooded.

"This is simply a catastrophe of epic proportions," Emil Dragomir said.

In Glucholazy, successful Poland's southwestern Opole region, firefighters piled up sandbags arsenic residents were evacuated.

A akin effort is taking spot successful Krakow, Poland's 2nd largest city, with residents offered sandbags for flood protection.

Glucholazy nonmigratory Piotr Jakubiec said helium had prepared sandbags and pumps to divert the h2o but that it was "impossible to foretell what's going to happen".

"This is the 2nd clip successful my beingness that I've seen specified a phenomenon. It's a nightmare for the radical who unrecorded here," helium said.

Another resident, Zofia Owsiaka, said everyone successful the municipality was "scared" and determination seemed to beryllium "no anticipation of the rainfall stopping".

In the metropolis of Wroclaw thousands of residents had to usage the staircases of high-rise blocks due to the fact that lifts were unopen arsenic a flood information precaution, section media reported.

In the Czech Republic, a dam burst successful the country's South Bohemia portion connected Saturday. Environment Minister Petr Hladik urged those successful the worst-hit areas to hole to permission their homes.

Hladik said the crushed was saturated and rainwater was staying connected the aboveground - expanding the hazard of flash floods. Rain successful the Czech Republic is expected until Tuesday, the curate said.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the state braced for "a pugnacious weekend". Authorities person enactment up protective walls of sandbags and metallic barriers.

Football matches successful the country's apical 2 leagues scheduled for this play were cancelled.