NYSA - The mayor of a Polish city has asked all 44,000 residents to evacuate, as widespread flooding continues to batter swathes of central Europe.
Nysa mayor Kordian Kolbiarz asked people to head for higher ground, citing the risk of an embankment breaching and releasing a cascade of water into the town from a nearby lake.
On Monday, the death toll from the floods that hit central Europe over the weekend continued to rise, with more casualties recorded in the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria. Budapest said it would close roads near the river Danube which runs through the city, citing the risk of flooding later this week. “Please evacuate your belongings, yourselves, your loved ones. It is worth getting to the top floor of the building immediately, because the wave may be several metres high. This means that the whole town will be flooded,” Mr Kolbiarz, the mayor of Nysa, wrote.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said one billion zloty (£197m) would be allocated for flood victims. He added Poland would also apply for EU relief funds. On Monday, the country declared a state of natural disaster, making the emergency response easier and freeing up EU funds. The death toll from the ongoing flooding across central Europe reached 16 on Monday, with more deaths recorded in the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria. Although conditions have stabilised in some places, others are bracing themselves for more disruption and danger.
In Slovakia, the overflowing of the Danube River caused flooding in the Old Town area of the capital, Bratislava, with local media reporting that water levels exceeded 9m (30ft) and were expected to rise further.