| Duration: | June 2009 |
| Fatalities: | 33 |
| Damages: | Unknown |
| Areas affected: | Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary |
The 2009 European floods were a series of natural disasters that took place in June 2009 in Central Europe. Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have all been affected. The heavy rains caused overflowing of the rivers Oder, Vistula, Elbe and Danube. At least 12 people were killed in the Czech Republic[1] and one in Poland.
It is the worst natural disaster in the Czech Republic since 2002, when floods killed 17 people and caused billions of dollars of damage in Prague.[2] Those same floodwaters from the Czech Republic also affected Germany, with Dresden being hit by its worst flooding for over a century and three thousand people evacuated from areas where water was said to be waist-deep.[3] Austria has now experienced its heaviest rainfalls in half a century.[2]
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The Danube rose after the heaviest rainfalls in the region in half a century, isolating several villages.[2] Approximately 13,000 emergency workers were called to assist.[2] The Albertina Museum in Vienna evacuated 950,000 artworks by artists such as Monet and Renoir on 25 June.[2]
Hundreds of people were evacuated from buildings in the Czech Republic.[2] The government requested the assistance of 1,000 soldiers.[2] Nový Jičín District is the most affected region, with the governor claiming that damages might total tens of millions of dollars.[2] Tomas Vindis said; "The situation is bad, although somewhat stabilized. The water is not a threat at the moment ... but the forecast is not exactly favorable, so everybody is worried a bit that it could come back."[4] Nový Jičín declared a state of emergency.[5]
Jan Fischer, the Czech Prime Minister, claimed on television that the situation was "under control", also discussing the death tolls.[5] The government will donate 54 million koruna (equivalent to 2.08 million Euros) to the relief effort.[5]
Hungary initiated first- and second-degree alerts, with Budapest issuing a high alert near the Rába river.[2]
On July 2 there were alerts along 853 kilometers. 36 kilometers of third degree alerts near the river Lajta, second degree on the Danube at Dunakiliti, Győr, Komárom, Esztergom, Budapest and on the river Rába at Sárvár, first degree alerts from the Ipoly river mouth to the southern border of Hungary.[6]
The Polish National Security Centre stated that rivers exceeded warning levels in forty-three areas, whilst alarm levels were exceeded in a further twenty places.[2] A total of fifty families were evacuated in Kraków.[5] Water submerged a railway station in Upper Silesia.[5]
Flood warnings were issued for 22 and 23 June for 21 counties.[7] Amidst rain and hail, warnings were also issued for the Buzău and Ialomiţa rivers for 29 and 30 June.[8]
A second-degree alert was declared in Bratislava because of rising river levels.[2]
A flash flood in Istanbul started on September 9. Heavy rains caused water levels to rise six feet, flooding a major highway and commercial district in the city's Ikitelli district. Hundreds of people climbed onto rooftops, and many desperate motorists struggled to escape their vehicles and run to safety. Others drowned in their own vehicles. Many people taking refuge on rooftop of them were airlifted to safety by rescue helicopters. Rescue workers using inflatable boats also travelled through the flooded streets, picking up survivors. Some rescuers used ropes to drag people across the torrent to safety. Four helicopters and eight boats were used for rescue work. Istanbul firefighters recovered seven bodies at a truck parking lot littered with upended trucks. The bodies of seven women were found in a van outside a textile factory. The van had been taking them to their jobs, when the flood hit. Police were deployed throughout the city to prevent looting. Two other people died in Istanbul's Catalca suburb and six others were swept away by the flood. 20 people died, 8 were listed as missing, and 20 were injured. [9]