Poland is expected to declare a state of natural disaster after a weekend of mass flooding led to multiple casualties and mass evacuations.
The Polish Chancellery of the Prime Minister announced on Sunday evening that an extraordinary meeting of the council of ministers would be held on Monday at 9 a.m. in connection with the flood situation.
News outlet wPolityce reported that the government declared a state of natural disaster.
“Today at 9 a.m., the Council of Ministers, as announced by the Prime Minister, will decide to introduce a state of natural disaster,” said Deputy Interior Minister Czesław Mroczek on the First Program of Polish Radio.
When asked whether the state of natural disaster would cover the entire country or individual voivodeships, he replied: “A state of natural disaster will be introduced in the area where it occurred. We are consulting this with voivodes, which is the term for Polish states.
“This means that voivodes indicate the areas affected by this misfortune, this disaster, based on the agreement or recommendation of the voivodeship crisis management teams,” he added.
Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz revealed on Monday that 2,600 people had been evacuated from flood-prone areas in the last 24 hours, as he thanked emergency responders for their bravery in combatting the flooding.
“Soldiers are securing embankments, helping with evacuations, and carrying out activities in areas where the water is receding, including preparations for rebuilding crossings and delivering the most necessary items,” Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X. “Engineer troops are involved, and heavy equipment has also been sent to help,” he added.
The flooding has devastated areas in the south and west of Poland, with the worst situations in Lower Silesia and the Opole region.
The dam in Stronie Śląskie in the Kłodzko district has broken while in Głuchołazy, Nysa County, water pressure destroyed a temporary bridge. Stronie Śląskie and Lądek Zdrój are practically impossible to reach. The streets of Kłodzko are underwater; the water depth in the flooded quarters in the city center ranges from 50 centimers to 1.5 meters.
A total of four people have been confirmed to have died in the flooding across Poland so far.
The disaster isn’t limited to Poland with Czechia, Slovakia, and Austria all suffering while Hungary is organizing its defenses against an expected rise of the Danube river.
