Weather: Clinic in Czech Republic evacuated – first floods in Germany

Dam in Poland overflows – settlements evacuated

Sunday, September 15, 00:37: After heavy rainfall, a dam in southwest Poland overflowed. “The dam in Miedzygorze is overflowing. Although water has been released, it has reached its highest level! The water inflow is huge,” wrote the Lower Silesian municipality of Bystryca Klodzka on X. The situation is critical, and residents of the lower-lying villages are being evacuated, the Regional Water Management Authority in Wroclaw announced.

Floods in the Czech Republic: Thousands evacuated

9.30 p.m.: Evacuations in the Czech Republic are being expanded due to the threat of flooding. In Opava on the border with Poland, thousands of people had to be brought to safety, the authorities announced on Saturday evening. Among other things, the city’s largest prefabricated housing estate was affected. The Opava River of the same name, a tributary of the Oder, has already overflowed its banks in some places. There were fears of a flood of the century or even a flood more severe than the 1997 disaster. Hundreds of people in other places in the region also had to leave their homes.

According to police, several people were missing. A car plunged into a raging stream near Jesenik in the Jeseník Mountains. One passenger managed to escape to the bank, but there was no trace of three others. In Jankovice, a 54-year-old fell into a flooded stream during clean-up work and never resurfaced.

Around 80 water level measuring stations in the Czech Republic had the highest flood alert level of “danger”. This means that there is a danger to life and limb or that major property damage is imminent. The north-east of the country was particularly affected. A dangerous situation was declared in the administrative regions of Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc. The army provided helicopters for relief operations. In Prague, government members met for another crisis meeting.

“Magnitude of a 100-year flood event” in Austria

20:39: In the flood areas in Austria, the flood situation is getting worse due to persistent rain. Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer told broadcaster ORF on Saturday evening. The army is ready to provide support.

24 municipalities have been declared disaster areas due to the risk of flooding. The situation is particularly precarious in the Waldviertel region in Lower Austria, north of Vienna. There, the Kamp, a tributary of the Danube, has already caused massive flooding.

The deputy governor (prime minister) of Lower Austria, Stephan Pernkopf, spoke of the “magnitude of a 100-year flood event”. What he means is that such conditions only occur once every 100 years on average over the long term. In many places, the fire brigade and the Red Cross are helping to clear buildings that are particularly at risk and bring people to safety.

Further rainfall is also expected during the night. The Ottenstein reservoir on the Kamp is in danger of overflowing. Since Monday, masses of water have been released there to increase the capacity for the expected rainwater. The limit is likely to be reached on Sunday, according to emergency services. Meteorologists are only expecting the weather to improve slightly during the course of Sunday.

Poland: Opole expects flood wave in the Oder

17:58: After persistent rain in Poland, the Silesian city of Opole is preparing for a flood in the Oder. The water level will be around five meters on Sunday morning, the city administration announced on Saturday. By Monday it could rise to a maximum of six meters. There is currently no danger to the population from the flood. According to a city spokesman, the normal water level of the Oder in Opole is around four meters.

The Opole Voivodeship in southwest Poland has been hit hardest by the storms so far. “The situation is most difficult in the district around Prudnik on the border with the Czech Republic and in the neighboring Nysa district,” said Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak. “The next few hours will be tough. We must expect many new incidents and dangers. I appeal once again to residents and citizens to listen to the instructions of the authorities, especially when it comes to evacuation.”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk wanted to attend a meeting of the crisis team in Nysa that evening. “We have a critical night ahead of us, full mobilization is necessary,” Tusk wrote on X. Firefighters, soldiers, police officers, local authorities officials and all state agencies are involved in the fight against the floods.

Red alert in 20 districts – rain is easing, “but it is only a breather”

15:56: The German Weather Service is warning of heavy, persistent rain in 20 Bavarian districts. The rain is currently easing, says The Weather Channel meteorologist Jan Schnk. “But it’s only a breather, because on Sunday afternoon more rain will move in from the east with thunderstorms.”

In Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria, however, the rain continues. The flood waves on the Danube, Elbe and Oder continue to build. Schenk warns: “The catastrophe will only really start on Sunday with our neighbors – and later with us too.”

• Altötting
• Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
• Berchtesgadener Land
• Cham
• Deggendorf
• Ebersberg
• Erding
• Freyung-Grafenau
• Garmisch-Partenkirchen
• Landshut
• Miesbach
• Mühldorf a. Inn
• Munich
• Eastern Allgäu
• Passau
• Rain
• Rosenheim
• Rottal Inn
• Traunstein
• Weilheim-Schongau

Passau prepared for the flood, Alpine snow eased the situation

15:42: In view of the rising water levels of the Danube and Inn, the city of Passau is expecting the first closures in the city area from the evening hours on Saturday. Preparations for this are already being made, as the city announced this morning. The peak of the flood in the three-river city is expected to be reached on Sunday morning with water levels on the Danube at 7.89 meters and on the Inn at 5.48 meters.

According to the information, this would mean that the warning level three would be just exceeded. The flooding is caused by heavy rainfall in Bavaria, but also in the neighboring countries of Austria and the Czech Republic. Unlike there, however, large-scale flooding is not expected in Passau as of now. Nevertheless, the situation is being closely monitored and the population will be informed of all further measures, the city said.

The Bavarian Flood Control Centre is also not expecting a dramatic escalation in the state. Although heavy rainfall is still to be expected, most of the precipitation has already fallen. The development of the floods is also being mitigated by the fact that snow has fallen in the mountains instead of rain. Nevertheless, in addition to Passau, several other places in the Isar and Inn catchment areas are also expected to reach warning level three, for example in Cham and Lohberg. Elsewhere, however, warning levels one and two are not likely to be exceeded, it said. This could mean slight traffic disruptions or flooding of agricultural areas.

Clinic in Czech Republic evacuated – 100-year flood expected in Austria

2.34 p.m.: A clinic in the Czech Republic had to be evacuated due to flooding. More than 180 patients from the Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy in Brno were to be gradually transferred to other facilities, the clinic’s management announced. Emergency services and the fire brigade helped with the patient transport. The health facility is located in the floodplain of the Svratka River, whose water level continues to rise. In addition, water seeped through the sewer system into the basements where the power supply is located.

Meanwhile, the mayor of the holiday resort of Spindleruv Mlyn in the Giant Mountains recommended that all tourists and visitors leave the town. The Elbe threatened to overflow its banks and flood the only arterial road. After heavy rainfall, the highest flood alert level was also in effect at more than 40 other water level measuring stations in the country. The region around Jesenik in the Jesenik Mountains in the east of the country and the area around Frydlant in northern Bohemia are particularly affected. It cannot be ruled out that further evacuations will take place, said Interior Minister Vit Rakusan.

In Austria, too, heavy rainfall is causing water levels to rise in several places, which has already led to numerous fire service operations in parts of the country during the night. In Lower Austria, rescuers were called out 160 times during the night around the state capital Vienna, as the spokesman for the state command reported. In Vienna, the population was forced to avoid outdoor activities as much as possible.

Flooding is expected on the Danube, the likes of which only occur every 30 years on average. Mobile flood protection has been set up in the Wachau region, for example. On the Kamp, a tributary of the Danube, authorities are preparing for a 100-year flood. Some holiday homes have already been evacuated. In some places the river has already overflowed its banks.

Read more about the current weather conditions on the Page.