At least 16 killed in flooding across eastern and central Europe

At least 16 people have died after heavy flooding across eastern and central Europe.

Several areas in Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic were hit hard over the weekend as heavy rain and surging water levels forced evacuations, collapsed bridges and damaged houses and cars.

The number of flood victims in southwestern Poland rose to five after the body of a surgeon returning from hospital duty was found in the town of Nysa on Monday morning, firefighters said.

Earlier the bodies of two women and two men were found in the region.

Police in the Czech Republic said at least three people had died, while seven others were missing.

The floods have already claimed seven lives in Romania and one in Austria.

Poland declares state of natural disaster

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a state of natural disaster in the flooded areas, in order to facilitate evacuation and rescue operations and expedite financial support for the victims.

Many Polish cities have called for food donations for those in the flooded areas.

Evacuations and warnings of further flooding

On Monday afternoon the mayor of the Polish town of Nysa, which has a population of around 40,000, called on residents to evacuate immediately after a nearby floodbank was damaged.

Experts are warning of a further flood threat in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, and the city of Wroclaw, where 640,000 people live and where flooding was expected on Wednesday.

Czech authorities declare state of emergency

Czech authorities have also declared a state of emergency in two northeastern regions which have seen the worst of the flooding.

Several towns and cities were submerged on Sunday in the northeast, where thousands were forced to evacuate.

On Monday a broken barrier in the northeastern city of Ostrava led to hundreds more being evacuated.

Receding waters in mountainous areas on Monday left behind destroyed homes, bridges and roads.

Slovakia and Hungary predicted to be hit by flooding next

Flooding is predicted to impact Slovakia and Hungary next, as a low-pressure system from northern Italy has dumped record rainfall in the region since Thursday.

People in Slovakia’s capital Bratislava and the Hungarian capital Budapest were both preparing for possible flooding as the River Danube rose.

The mayor of Budapest has warned residents the largest floods in a decade were expected to hit the capital during the week.

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