Storm Boris unleashes central Europe flooding, toll hits 15

AFP | Vienna, Austria

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Flooding sparked by Storm Boris in central Europe has burst dams, knocked out power and killed at least 15 people, authorities said yesterday as some communities were cut off four days into the disaster.

High winds and unusually heavy rainfall have hit swathes of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia since Friday.

“I have lived here for 16 years, and I have never seen such flooding,” Judith Dickson, who lives in Austria’s Sankt Poelten city, told the national broadcaster ORF.

Experts say climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activities is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as torrential rains and floods.

The rains from Boris have flooded streets and submerged entire neighbourhoods in some places, while shutting down public transport and electricity in others.

Parts of Austria have been inundated since Thursday by five times the average amount of rain the country gets for the entire month of September, according to forecaster Geosphere.

The flooding has broken 12 dams, with muddy rivers raging, while thousands of households were without electricity and water in Lower Austria state, authorities said.

The Czech Republic and Poland have also reported deaths, evacuations and significant destruction in the worst-hit areas.

The flooding death toll in Romania -- where people climbed on to roofs to escape the water -- has climbed to seven, according to rescuers.

“Compared to 2013 the amount of water was almost three times bigger. It was hard to handle that kind of fury of nature,” Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu told reporters on Monday.

Hungary has deployed more than 350 soldiers to reinforce flood barriers as the Danube and rivers along its basin are expected to surge.