Death toll rises as torrential rain and flooding force evacuations in Central Europe

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Emergency workers carried out rescue operations on Sunday in the eastern Czech towns of Jesenik and Opava after days of heavy rains caused widespread flooding and forced mass evacuations. (AP Video by Jan Gebert and Stanislav Hodina)

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Parts of Bratislava and Vienna were underwater Sunday, as flooding and torrential rain wreaked havoc around central Europe.

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Flooding affected the towns and villages in the south of Poland on Sunday after heavy rains over large swathes of Europe.

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A resident hugs with her relative after being evacuated from her flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A man stands in waist-deep water that has flooded the streets and houses in the town of Kłodzko, in Poland’s southwest, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, after days of unusually heavy rain. (AP Photo/Krzysztof Zatycki)

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A resident is evacuated from her flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A view of flooded houses in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A resident with his dog is taken by a rubber boat from his flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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The Bela River flows past a church during floods in Mikulovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A man wades through flood water in Opava, Czech Republic, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

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A cyclist looks at Donaukanal channel flood its banks at Urania observatory in central Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

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Firemen help residents during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Firemen drive through flooded streets of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Firemen attend to a house during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Debris collects on a small overpath on the Opavice River near Krnov, Czech Republic, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Residents fill sand bags to protect their houses during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Firemen help a resident during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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An army helicopter flies over the flooded Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Residents watch the river during floods Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A firefighter wades through flooded streets in Opava, Czech Republic, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

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A drone image showing the floods in the Ostrava-Koblov district, Czech Republic, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Petr Sznapka/CTK via AP)

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A flooded backyard with carved wood religious figures in Kłodzko, southwest Poland, as days of unusually heavy rain have swollen rivers and spilled over embankments in the region, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Krzysztof Zatycki)

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Garages and a house flooded in the town Kłodzko, in Poland’s southwest, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, after days of unusually heavy rain. (AP Photo/Krzysztof Zatycki)

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The Donaukanal channel floods its banks in central Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

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People watch the junction of river Wien and Donaukanal channel as they flood their banks in central Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

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A view of flooded houses in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A resident is evacuated from his flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A dog stands at gate of a flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A resident is evacuated from his flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A resident hugs with her relative after being evacuated from her flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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A view of a street as the electricity went out due to recent floods in Opava, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jan Gebert)

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River Wien floods its banks in the west of Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

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River Wien floods its banks next to tracks and a closed subway station in the west of Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

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Workers set up rarely-used mobile anti-flood walls at the bank of Danube river in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomas Hrivnak)

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A man enjoys a ride on a padlle board during floods in Zahorska Bystrica, Slovakia, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomas Hrivnak)

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A woman takes a photo of high levels of the Danube river in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomas Hrivnak)

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Spectators look at the partially collapsed Carolabrücke bridge over the Elbe, which is rising rapidly due to upcoming flood waters, in front of the state chancellery in Dresden, Germany, Sunday, September 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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A view of the partially collapsed Carolabrücke bridge over the Elbe, which is rising rapidly due to upcoming flood waters, in front of the state chancellery in Dresden, Germany, Sunday, September 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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Flooded streets from the Danube River in Passau, Germany, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Armin Weigel/dpa via AP)

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Spectators look at the partially collapsed Carolabrücke bridge, over the Elbe, which is rising rapidly due to upcoming flood waters, in front of the state chancellery in Dresden, Germany, Sunday, September 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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A firefighter wades through flooded streets in Opava, Czech Republic, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

By KAREL JANICEK

PRAGUE (AP) — The death toll was rising in Central European countries on Sunday after days of heavy rains caused widespread flooding and forced evacuations.

Several Central European nations have already been hit by severe flooding, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania. Slovakia and Hungary might come next as a result of a low pressure system from northern Italy dumping record rainfall in the region since Thursday.

The floods have claimed six lives in Romania and one each in Austria and Poland. In the Czech Republic, four people who were swept away by waters were missing, police said.

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It’s not over yet

Most parts of the Czech Republic have been affected as authorities declared the highest flood warnings at around 100 places across the country. But the situation was worst in two northeastern regions that recorded the biggest rainfall in recent days, including the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.

In the city of Opava, up to 10,000 people out of a population of around 56,000 have been asked to move to higher ground. Rescuers used boats to transport people to safety in a neighborhood flooded by the raging Opava River.

“There’s no reason to wait,” Mayor Tomáš Navrátil told Czech public radio. He said that the situation was worse than during the last devastating floods in 1997, known as the “flood of the century.”

“We have to focus on saving lives,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala told Czech public television on Sunday. His government was set to meet Monday to assess the damages.

The worst “is not behind us yet,” the prime minister warned.

President Petr Pavel sounded more optimistic, saying “it’s obvious we’ve learned a lesson from the previous crisis.”

At least 4 missing and villages cut off

Thousands of others also were evacuated in the towns of Krnov, which was almost completely flooded, and Cesky Tesin. The Oder River that flows to Poland was reaching extreme levels in the city of Ostrava and in Bohumin, prompting evacuations.

Ostrava, the regional capital, is the third-largest Czech city. Mayor Jan Dohnal said the city will face major traffic disruptions in the days to come. Almost no trains were operating in the region.

Towns and villages in the Jeseniky mountains, including the local center of Jesenik, were inundated and isolated by raging waters that turned roads into rivers. The military sent a helicopter to help with evacuations.

Jesenik Mayor Zdenka Blistanova told Czech public television that several houses in her and other nearby towns have been destroyed by the floods. A number of bridges and roads have been badly damaged.

About 260,000 households were without power Sunday morning in the entire country, while traffic was halted on many roads, including the major D1 highway.

A firefighter dies as Lower Austria declared a disaster zone

A firefighter died after “slipping on stairs” while pumping out a flooded basement in the town of Tulln, the head of the fire department of Lower Austria, Dietmar Fahrafellner, told reporters on Sunday.

Authorities declared the entire state of Lower Austria in the northeastern part of the country a disaster zone, while 10,000 relief forces have so far evacuated 1,100 houses there. Emergency personnel have started setting up accommodation for residents who had to flee their homes due to the flooding.

The municipality of Lilienfeld with about 25,000 residents is cut off from the outside world. Residents were told to boil tap water as a precaution.

The situation is particularly dangerous along the Kamp River, which flows into the Danube. The Ottenstein reservoir on the river functions as a buffer, but exceeding its limits could cause more flooding, experts say.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the situation “continues to worsen.” He said 2,400 soldiers were ready to support the relief effort in Austria. Of those, 1,000 soldiers will deploy to the disaster zone in Lower Austria, where dams were beginning to burst.

“We are experiencing difficult and dramatic hours in Lower Austria. For many people in Lower Austria these will probably be the most difficult hours of their lives,” said Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the governor of Lower Austria.

In Vienna, the Wien River overflowed its banks, flooding homes and forcing first evacuations of nearby houses.

Romania reports 2 more flooding victims

Romanian authorities said Sunday that another two people had died in the hard-hit eastern county of Galati after four were reported dead there a day earlier, following unprecedented rain.

Dramatic flooding in Poland

In Poland, one person was presumed dead in floods in the southwest, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday.

Tusk said the situation was “dramatic” around the town of Klodzko, with about 25,000 residents, located in a valley in the Sudetes mountains near the border with the Czech Republic. Helicopters were used to pick up people from roofs in a few cases.

In Glucholazy, rising waters overflowed a river embankment and flooded streets and houses. Mayor Paweł Szymkowicz said, “we are drowning,” and appealed to residents to evacuate to high ground.

A bridge in the town collapsed under the flood pressure and a police station building was knocked down in Stronie Śląskie, after floodwaters burst through a dam. Submerged cars could be seen in many places in the Kłodzko Valley region bordering the Czech Republic, while a new flood wave was expected there.

In the city of Jelenia Gora, which has 75,000 residents, downtown streets were flooded after one of the embankments burst on the Bobr River. City authorities have warned residents they may need to evacuate as more flooding was moving toward the city.

Energy supplies and communications were cut off in some flooded areas, and regions may resort to using the satellite-based Starlink service, Tusk said.

The weather change arrived following a hot start to September in the region. Scientists have documented Earth’s hottest summer, breaking a record set just a year ago.

A hotter atmosphere, driven by human-caused climate change, can lead to more intense rainfall.

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Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, Philipp-Moritz Jenne and Stephanie Liechtenstein in Vienna, and Stephen McGrath in Sibiu, Romania, contributed to this report.