Rising rivers threaten southern Poland as flooding recedes elsewhere in Central Europe

Soldiers and volunteers in southwestern Poland were laying sandbags Wednesday near swollen rivers in the region of Wroclaw as they worked to safeguard homes and businesses after days of flooding across Central Europe.

Soldiers and volunteers in southwestern Poland were laying sandbags Wednesday near swollen rivers in the region of Wroclaw as they worked to safeguard homes and businesses after days of flooding across Central Europe.

Several Central European nations have been hit by severe flooding, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a result of a low pressure system that began dumping record rainfall in the region last Thursday.

Authorities have reported 23 deaths so far, with seven each in Poland and Romania, five in Austria and four in the Czech Republic.

The combination of floods in Central Europe and deadly wildfires in Portugal are joint proof of a “climate breakdown” that will become the norm unless drastic action is taken, the European Union’s head office said Wednesday.

The fourth death in the Czech Republic was reported Wednesday, when police said they found the body of a 70-year-old woman who was swept away by waters on Sunday in the town of Kobyla nad Vidnavkou near the town of Jesenik, located in the badly hit northeast.

The weather has improved, with warm and sunny conditions in the Czech Republic, Poland and elsewhere. Water levels were falling in some places, allowing authorities and residents to clean up debris.

Firefighters in Poland were pumping water out of flooded streets and basements. And in Romania, about 1,000 firefighters were working across the country to clean up severely affected areas, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said Wednesday in a Facebook post.