2010 Central European floods

2010 Central European floods

Floods in Gliwice, Poland
Date May–June 2010
Deaths 37
Property damage Unknown

The 2010 Central European floods were a devastating series of weather events which occurred across several Central European countries during May and June 2010. Poland was the worst affected. Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine were also affected.

At least thirty-seven people died in the floods and approximately 23,000 people were evacuated. The city of Kraków declared a state of emergency.

The floods forced the closure and relocation of items from the Auschwitz concentration camp museum. On 20 May, aid began arriving to Poland from several European Union countries.

Poland

In Poland, the floods caused the deaths of at least 25 people, the evacuation of approximately 23,000 people, and an estimated economic cost of 2.5 billion euros.[1] Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk informed the Sejm that ongoing flooding was "the worst natural disaster in the nation's history ... without precedent in the past 160 years".[2][2][3]

Two months' worth of rain poured down over a 24‑hour period.[4] The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum was closed[5] and important artifacts were moved to higher ground as floodwaters approached.[4] The city of Kraków announced a state of emergency.[4] Due to the high level of the Vistula river, Kraków's Dębnicki bridge, located in the center of the city, and the Nowohucki bridge were closed on 18 May.[6]

The flooding lasted for a number of days, and escalated on 20 May when the Vistula River broke its banks. In the town of Sandomierz, residents were stranded in their homes while power outages affected telecommunication.[7] The 2010 flooding was considered more severe than the last major flood, in 1997.[3]

Wrocław, where the level of the Oder river on 22 May reached 665 cm in Trestno, declared a flood alert.[8] The Kozanów district of Wrocław was flooded after a temporary sandbag wall was breached.[9]

Wrocław's flooded Kozanów district
Vistula broads in Strzyżawa - The riverbed is located approximately 500m from the edge of the forest on the left side
Flood in Opole

On Sunday 23 May the Wisła river broke a retaining wall and flooded Świniary near Płock, and nearby villages, including Szady, Wiączemin Polski, Nowy Wiączemin and Nowosiodło. Reports stated that 22 villages in the Płock area had sustained flooding or were under imminent threat. Around 4,000 people and 5,000 animals were evacuated.[10][11] In Płock, Gmury street was submerged.[11]

In the Lublin Voivodeship, 800 people had to be evacuated after the river Chodelka flooded in the Gmina Wilków.[12] On 23 May, it was reported that 23 villages were already flooded with 4–5 meters of water and the situation continued to worsen.[13]

During the May floods, at least 6,200 households in the Małopolska region alone were fully or partially flooded and 12,000 people were affected by it. Numerous other places in Poland were flooded too. In the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, another flood alert was announced on 2 June in relation to Kraków, Tarnów, the counties of Bochnia, Brzesko, Dąbrowa, and Sucha, and eight gminas. Twelve rivers exceeded the alarm level in 14 places and eleven rivers exceeded warning levels in 21 places. On 4 June the railway bridge between Nowy Sącz and Stary Sącz was broken by the river Poprad. At least three people fell from the bridge into the rushing waters. According to some reports their fate is still unknown while other say they managed to save themselves.[14][15] The Poprad river also flooded the town of Muszyna. On 5 June the Vistula flooded the Gmina Szczucin and around 3,000 people had to be evacuated.[16][17]

In the Silesian Voivodeship, flood alerts were again issued in the Bielsko, Bieruń-Lędziny, Cieszyn, Gliwice, Pszczyna, Racibórz, Wodzisław and Żywiec counties, and in the cities of Bielsko-Biała, Gliwice and Zabrze. In the Lublin Voivodeship, river-side gminas announced flood alerts.

In the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, the river Ropa flooded the town of Jasło on 5 June.[18]

From 3 June, the Trześniówka river flooded the part of the city of Sandomierz (located in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship) which lies on the right side of the Vistula, and which was already flooded in May. The city was also threatened by the Vistula river which reached 770 cm, over 100 cm past the alarm level.[19][20]

Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, the heaviest rain in the region for eight years was reported.[4] A state of emergency was declared in a total of 302 municipalities across the Zlín Region and Moravian-Silesian Region.[21] One death was reported, due to drowning.[4]

Hungary

In Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Northern Hungary eighteen towns and villages were cut from the outside world by the flood of the rivers Sajó, Hernád and Bódva. More than 480 people had to leave their homes.[22] In Miskolc the Szinva flooded the Diósgyőr district of the city during what was described by locals as "the biggest flood since 1975".[23]

Several roads became unusable, the border checkpoint of Sátoraljaújhely/Slovenské Nové Mesto was closed on June 1.[24] In Pásztó (Nógrád county), a local reservoir threatened with overflow; the earthen dam was strengthened by sandbags. 2000 people had to leave their homes. Houses would be under 4 m water within seven minutes of the collapse of the dam.[25] A short part of Motorway M1 collapsed near Győr.[26]

Fatalities

On 17 May, the death toll reached five people.[4] Four of these were in Poland and included a fireman.[4] The other, an elderly woman, was in the Czech Republic when she drowned.[4]

On 21 May, the death toll in Poland had reached at least nine people with the whereabouts of three others being unknown.[27] On 24 May the death toll in Poland was 15 confirmed dead.[28]

The flood claimed several casualties in Hungary too: a man, whose house collapsed on him, died in Miskolc[29] a woman died and two other persons suffered injuries in a car crash in Fejér county, where a car slipped on the flooded road; also in Fejér county a tree fell during the heavy rain, hitting a man who suffered life-threatening injuries.[30]

Country Deaths
Poland 25[31][32]
Austria 3[33]
Serbia 2[34]
Hungary 2[35]
Slovakia 1[36]+2[37]
Czech Republic 1[38]+1[37]
Total 34

Recovery

Poland asked for assistance from other European Union nations.[3] They came to the rescue from 20 May onwards, with France, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as the Czech Republic, despite that country being affected by the floods too.[3] On 25 May 2010, Poland received help also from Russia (including 18 high-power pumps, 34 boats and 5 mobile power stations).[39]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Polish flood death toll rises to nine". euronews. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  2. 1 2 "PM – flood Poland’s worst natural disaster". 21 May 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Flood waters reach Warsaw". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 21 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Day, Matthew (17 May 2010). "Five killed and thousands evacuated as floods hit central Europe". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  5. ↑ Gera, Vanessa (17 May 2010). "Floods worsen in central Europe, Auschwitz closed". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Wisła zalewa Kraków - miasto sparaliżowane" (in Polish). 18 May 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  7. ↑ Strzelecki, Marek (20 May 2010). "Poland Floods Turn Towns Into Lakes". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "Sytuacja w mieście" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  9. ↑ "Runął wał we Wrocławiu; "natura okazała się silniejsza"" (in Polish). 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  10. ↑ "Przerwany wał pod Płockiem. Ewakuacja; śmigłowce w akcji" (in Polish). 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Sytuacja jest poważna. Ewakuacja 4 tys. osób" (in Polish). 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  12. ↑ "Przerwany wał pod Płockiem; "dramatyczna sytuacja"" (in Polish). 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  13. ↑ "Lubelszczyzna walczy o utrzymanie wałów" (in Polish). 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  14. ↑ "Rwąca rzeka zerwała most" (in Polish). 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  15. ↑ "Woda zniszczyła most kolejowy na Popradzie" (in Polish). 4 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  16. ↑ "Słupiec: Przerwany wał. "Oporna ewakuacja"" (in Polish). 5 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  17. ↑ "Wisła przerwała wał w Słupcu" (in Polish). 5 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  18. ↑ "Woda wdarła się do Jasła; "zniszczenia są potężne"" (in Polish). 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  19. ↑ "http://www.sandomierz.pl/index.php/pl/aktualnosci/go:p/art759.html" (in Polish). Retrieved 5 June 2010. External link in |title= (help)
  20. ↑ "Woda przerwała wał". Onet (in Polish). 5 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  21. ↑ "Déšť ustal, hladiny řek zvolna klesají" [Rain has stopped, river levels slowly decreasing]. Tyden.cz (in Czech). 19 May 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  22. ↑ "Tizennyolc települést zár el a víz az országban". origo.hu (in Hungarian). 2 June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  23. ↑ ""Ott fönt átszakadt valami" - videoriport Miskolc elárasztott panelházaiból". origo.hu (in Hungarian). 17 May 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  24. ↑ "Lezárták a sátoraljaújhelyi határátkelőt az árvíz miatt". hvg.hu (in Hungarian). 2 June 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  25. ↑ ""Hét perc alatt éri el a házakat a négyméteres víz" - riport a vízzel fenyegetett Pásztóról". origo.hu (in Hungarian). 2 June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  26. ↑ "Megbénultak a terelőutak az M1 lezárása miatt". origo.hu (in Hungarian). 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  27. ↑ "Polish flood death toll rises to nine". euronews. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  28. ↑ "Już 15 ofiar śmiertelnych powodzi" (in Polish). 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  29. ↑ "Vészhelyzetet rendeltek el Miskolcon". origo.hu (in Hungarian). 16 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  30. ↑ "Hirtelen áradások követik a halálos vihart". origo.hu (in Hungarian). 17 May 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  31. ↑ "Znaleziono ciało 22. ofiary powodzi" (in Polish). 31 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  32. ↑ "Ósma ofiara powodzi w Małopolsce". 5 June 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  33. ↑ Information from German Wikipedia
  34. ↑ money.pl (17 May 2010). "Śmiertelne ofiary powodzi w Serbii" (in Polish). Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  35. ↑ IAR (17 May 2010). "Węgry: Katastrofalna powódź na Węgrzech" (in Polish). Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  36. ↑ wp.pl (18 May 2010). "Co najmniej jedna ofiara śmiertelna powodzi na Słowacji" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  37. 1 2 WP.pl. "Trzy ofiary powodzi na Słowacji i w Czechach" (in Polish). Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  38. ↑ gazeta.pl (17 May 2010). "Poziom wód w rzekach rośnie, są ofiary w ludziach i gigantyczne zniszczenia" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  39. ↑ Justyna Prus (2010-05-26). "Rosja przysłała pompy, łodzie i mobilne elektrownie" (in Polish). Retrieved 10 June 2010.

External links

Media related to 2010 floods in Central Europe at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 50°17′40″N 18°40′17″E / 50.294492°N 18.67138°E / 50.294492; 18.67138

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