Dam threatens to burst

Polish villagers fight against disaster

In Nysa, the villagers are helping to prevent a catastrophe.

(Bild: AFP/Mateusz SLODKOWSKI)

In Poland, the devastating floods still have the country in their grip. Thousands of people in south-western Poland are joining forces to fight the floods - because the next disaster is already looming there.

In the small town of Nysa, around 90 kilometers south of Wroclaw, the waters of the Neisse threaten to break through a dam protecting the town center. During the night, many of the city's residents helped the army and fire department to reinforce the damaged area of the dam with sandbags.

With sandbags against the flood
"There were around 2000 people on the dyke: Women, men, children and senior citizens," Mayor Kordian Kolbiarz told the radio station Rmf.fm. They had formed a human chain to transport the sandbags. In Wroclaw, the crisis team met again with Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

A whole town is fighting against the flooding:

The government in Warsaw has declared a state of disaster for the flooded areas. This makes it easier for the authorities to enforce instructions.

Wroclaw threatened with complete flooding
Tusk said that there are currently very contradictory forecasts from meteorologists as to when the floods could reach the city of Wroclaw. Initially, it had been said that the flood wave in the Oder would reach the city on Wednesday. Now there is talk of Friday. This still needs to be analyzed in detail, Tusk demanded. When the Oder flooded in 1997, one third of Wroclaw was under water.

So far, it has been possible to prevent the dam in Nysa from bursting.

(Bild: AFP/Mateusz SLODKOWSKI)

In the south of Poland, entire areas were completely devastated.

(Bild: AFP/Mateusz SLODKOWSKI)

Only the roofs of some houses are still visible.

(Bild: AP/KG PSP)

Persistent rainfall led to flooding in south-western Poland on the border with the Czech Republic. In the small town of Klodzko in Lower Silesia, entire streets were flooded and one person was killed. The village of Glucholazy in the Opole region was devastated by masses of water. Four people have been confirmed dead so far.

Tusk has announced the provision of one billion zlotys (around 240 million euros) in aid for the flood victims in the south-west of the country. There will also be aid for the reconstruction of destroyed houses, he said on Monday at a meeting of the crisis management team in Wroclaw. According to Tusk, those affected could submit applications to the municipal administrations with immediate effect.