News Weather
Extreme rainfall hits Central European countries
Extreme rainfall in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Austria has caused enormous destruction. Storm Boris brought hundreds of millimeters of water in a short time, causing flooding in many places. The impact on villages, towns and agriculture is enormous.
As cold air from the north and warm air from the south have mixed in Central and Eastern Europe – and then been trapped between two high-pressure areas – a weather pattern has emerged, in which enormous amounts of precipitation have fallen in a short period of time. At higher altitudes, this precipitation fell in the form of snow. It is the first time that snow has fallen in the Austrian Alps in September.
Dramatic footage of the flooding yesterday in Lądek-Zdrój
— DISASTER TRACKER (@DisasterTrackHQ) September 16, 2024
Silesia Province | Poland
September 15, 2024#flooding #floods #PolandFloods #Poland pic.twitter.com/baxpT51Hwf
500 millimeters of precipitation
In Poland, President Donald Tusk has declared the precipitation an official natural disaster. The south, the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, has been particularly affected. On the other side of the Giant Mountains, in the Czech Republic, the disaster is even greater. In four days, almost 500 millimeters of precipitation fell, while the average annual rainfall in the country is 700 millimeters. Residents in the various countries are bracing themselves, because the flooding is not over yet.
Other countries had to deal with slightly less water, but the heavy precipitation is causing problems. In Poland it is 120 millimeters or more and in Romania 160 millimeters fell in one day. The water level of the Danube river has now almost reached a record level.
Impact on agriculture
The impact on the agricultural sector is still difficult to say per country. The Czech Ministry of Agriculture warns of damage to crops. Potatoes and sugar beets are particularly mentioned, as they are still in the field and are very sensitive to flooding. Erosion is also a problem. Livestock farms have also been hit by flooding, which sometimes causes stables to stand in the water.
The flooding follows a very hot summer, sometimes the warmest ever measured, and severe drought in Central Europe. In 1997, the countries were also shocked by a devastating amount of precipitation. The current extreme weather is comparable or even worse than 27 years ago.
Niels van der Boom
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