More rivers in central Europe overflowed on Monday in floods that killed at least 10 people from Poland to Romania and left many cities submerged or battered by gushing debris-laden waters after days of heavy rainfall.
The border areas between the Czech Republic and Poland were hit hard over the weekend. Some bridges collapsed and houses were destroyed, while villages and towns in eastern Romania were submerged.
The Polish government is due to meet on Monday morning to declare a state of disaster.
As rivers in the Czech-Polish border area began to recede on Monday, flooding spread to more and more parts and left major cities in both countries on alert.
In the Czech Republic, the rising Morava River overnight put Litovel, a town 230 kilometers east of the capital Prague with nearly 10,000 residents, about 70 percent underwater and closed schools and health facilities, its mayor said in a video posted on Facebook.
Flooded parts of the capital of the northeastern Czech region of Ostrava forced the shutdown of the power plant that supplied the city with heat and hot water, as well as two chemical factories.
More than 12,000 people have been evacuated in the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced Sunday evening on X when he called an emergency cabinet meeting for Monday.
On Monday, Czech television reported the first confirmed victim, which increased the number of victims in the entire region.
Six people died in floods in Romania over the weekend, and an Austrian firefighter died on Sunday. A man drowned in Poland on Sunday. Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said he had information about the second death, which Reuters could not immediately verify.
