Torrential rain, floods wreak havoc in Central Europe

Heavy rainfall has led to severe floods in large parts of Central Europe, including southern Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria. At least 17 people have been reported dead, including seven fatalities in Romania. In Austria, authorities have declared the province which surrounds the capital, Vienna, a disaster area. More rainfall is expected. In eastern Germany, river levels are still rising.

The masses of water proved too much for a dam in the Glatzer Snow Mountains, near the Polish-Czech border. In the Polish town of Nysa, the Nysa Klodzka River broke its banks, and in Klodzka, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) away, a man was killed by the floods.

Entire regions in the Czech Republic are underwater, including the towns of Jesenik and Krnov, on the border with Poland. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, some by helicopter. So far, authorities have confirmed three deaths and at least seven missing persons. As many as 20,000 military personnel have been deployed to help deal with the catastrophic aftermath of the floods.

In Cuza Voda, eastern Romania, residents worked together to bail out their community. Armed with buckets and rubber boots, they cleared muddy water from flooded homes. A low-pressure system from northern Italy led to the record rainfall.

In the Czech Republic, rescue workers used dinghies and helicopters to evacuate over 500 residents from Ostrava, a city where the Oder and Opava rivers meet. Across the country, tens of thousands have had to leave their homes. Prime Minister Petr Fiala told Czech public television on Sunday, the worst "is not behind us yet," but expressed hope that the country had learned from past disasters.

This pedestrian bridge on the Danube River in Austria’s capital Vienna was nearly completely submerged on Monday. "The rain has stopped and in many regions, the water levels are receding," Lower Austria’s provincial governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner said. But authorities are still warning of landslides and burst dams. At least five people have been killed in Lower Austria’s catastrophe zone.

Sluggish but full to bursting, the Vistula River is slowly flooding the promenade in Krakow, Poland. Following an emergency government meeting in Warsaw on Monday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced a state of natural disaster in the flooded areas in the southwest, to facilitate evacuation and rescue operations.

Tension is rising in eastern Germany, along with the rivers. Authorities in Saxony have reported a water level of more than 5.5 meters in the Elbe River in Dresden. If the water level rises above 6 meters (19.7 feet), the second-highest alert level is declared and built-up areas risk being flooded.