Reuters Videos
STORY: The death toll in central and eastern Europe rose on Sunday (September 15), after days of torrential rain triggered flooding and burst river banks.At an emergency meeting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the country’s first death, after a person drowned in the southwest. Tusk said about 1,600 people were evacuated from their homes, and expected many more to be forced to leave home, with more rain forecast for the next two days.It comes after officials in Romania said on Saturday that several people died and thousands of homes were damaged by flooding in the eastern part of the country.In Galati County, residents faced fast-flowing floodwaters that destroyed their homes, and killed pets and livestock.”It destroyed everything, I don’t have anything left. The beds are filled (with mud), the pillows are filled, I have nowhere to sleep. Nothing, nothing, nothing.”Tens of thousands of households have been left without power in the region, with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, southern Germany and parts of Austria also expected to see more heavy rain.Czech news agency CTK reported that more than 50,000 households had their electricity supply cut off, mostly in the north and northeastern areas.Forecasters warned that parts of the country could see more than a third of average annual rainfall by Sunday.The country’s environment minister urged people in the worst-hit areas to prepare to leave their homes.
