Central Europe on alert for worst flooding in years

Authorities across Central Europe are bracing for “potentially catastrophic” rainfall, with preparations in full swing. In Austria, sandbags are being readied, while reservoirs in the Czech Republic have been emptied, and Poland is on alert for flash floods.

Despite concerns, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged calm, stating there is “no reason to panic” after attending a flood risk briefing in Wroclaw. The southern regions of Poland are expected to receive up to 15cm (6in) of rain. While Poland’s territorial army remains on standby, millions of sandbags have already been stockpiled across flood-prone areas like Malopolska and Lower Silesia.

In Austria, heavy rain and mountain snow have disrupted travel, and Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced the army is prepared to deploy up to 1,000 soldiers if needed. Austria’s storm warning center UWZ predicts some regions could see more than 20cm of rain, with previous September records likely to be surpassed in a matter of days. Rail travel has been severely impacted, with part of the Tauern railway line closed due to heavy snowfall.

The Czech Republic is also taking extensive precautions. In Prague, a one-meter-thick steel gate was shut to protect the Mala Strana district, part of a national flood defense system that has cost over €1 billion. Authorities are particularly focused on North Moravia, where 50 people lost their lives in the devastating 1997 floods.

Meteorologists are warning that the Jeseniky mountains could receive up to 400mm of rain over the next few days, which would then flow down the River Oder toward Poland, potentially affecting numerous towns and villages.

Meanwhile, the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management has extended the highest flood alert from southern provinces to Szczecin, at the mouth of the River Odra, where it meets the Baltic Sea.

Although this is a regional emergency, covering a large swath of Central Europe, national priorities remain clear. Czech officials have already declined a request from Germany to stop releasing water from the Vltava Cascade reservoirs, essential to manage incoming rainfall.

The region remains on high alert, with experts calling the situation meteorologically “extraordinary” and unprecedented for this time of year.