'Once in a Century' Floods Devastate the Czech Republic

One of the worst floods in the Czech Republic's modern history has killed at least five people, with another eight still missing. Triggered by heavy, persistent rain coupled with the passing of two frontal systems over Central Europe, the flooding, which hit Czechia on Friday the 13th, has resulted in billions of korunas worth of damage. At least 24 people are reported to have died in the region, with Croatia, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia also affected by the low-pressure system. The Czech Republic and Austria bore the brunt of the flooding, which saw three times the average amount of rainfall for the entire month of September fall in a single week.

What You Need to Know

Vít Rakušan, Czechia's Minister of Internal Affairs, has stated that just over 21,000 people have been evacuated in the country due to the flooding.

"Military helicopters have delivered 59.4 tons of humanitarian aid to the affected areas. In total, 21,488 people have been evacuated, and 1,516 people have been rescued," said Rakušan.

Given a five-day notice prior to the flooding of the onset of a possible extreme weather event, the populous is still reeling in the aftermath, particularly in the Jesenik region.

In 1997 and 2002, the region also experienced devastating floods that killed 114 and 232 people, respectively, due to the lack of an early warning.

As a result of the widespread destruction in the country and its neighbors, the European Union has pledged 10 billion euros in aid to the affected nations—which is set to be pulled from the Union's solidarity and cohesion funds.

Currently, an investigation is underway to locate three missing adults whose vehicle plunged into raging floodwaters in Lipová-lázně on September 14. One individual managed to escape the vehicle, which was later found empty. The search for the trio is ongoing, said police.

The search for a 54-year-old man who was swept away by rough water while clearing a log near one of the municipality's bridges in Jankovice, Uherské Hradiště, has also continued, but with no success thus far, according to police.

One volunteer who had traveled 150 km from his hometown of Vyškov to Jesenik and Lipová-Lázně to help with the clearing of debris told Atlas News that locals claimed the impact of the flood in Czechia was far worse than that experienced during the 1997 and 2002 Central European floods.

"People also said that the Bělá riverbed [in the town of Jesenik] was modified and narrowed. In this year's floods, the water found its way back the way it was years ago," said Petr Tomek.

Despite the extensive flood damage, the nation's scheduled regional elections went ahead as planned between the 20th and 21st.

Noting little to no election interference as a result of the floods, Interior Minister Rakušan stated, "Once again, I would like to thank the mayors, governors, officials, firefighters, policemen, and everyone else, thanks to whose commitment it was possible to properly organize regional and senate elections throughout the Czech Republic, and nothing happened that would lead to the interruption of voting."

The opposition party ANO, led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, came away with 10 of the nation's 13 regions, with just 33 percent of the population exercising their right to vote, down 5 percent from the previous regional elections.