While in the south of Poland the water is slowly subsiding, the threat of floods has not passed yet as the northern part of the country is preparing for the wave to hit.

The level of the Vistula in Warsaw is slowly going down although it still exceeds the emergency level by 68 cm. In many places, embankments and dykes are completely soaked.

“At night fire fighters put additional sandbags on bulwarks in Praga Port, which partly collapsed,” said Michal Gigola from the Fire Service.

In the most flood-prone districts of Warsaw - Wilanow, Dolny Mokotow and Praga - schools and kindergartens were shut down yesterday. One of the city’s main highways, Wal Miedzeszynski, remains closed.

A flood alert has been announced in the western region of Wielkopolska, especially in villages and towns located along the Warta River. Some inhabitants of Kalisz, which was severely affected by the flood, are trying to pump out water from basements but emergency services warn that it may disrupt the stability of the flooded buildings and advise to wait till the water outside subsides.

“The city of Poznan is not in danger of being flooded,” the governor of Wielkopolska Piotr Florek assures.

The northern region of Pomerania is fighting the wave on the Vistula River, which has already reached the area. The towns of Tczew and Gniew are the most endangered by the flood. Almost 300 fire fighters worked all night to protect town centres and several families were evacuated. In Pruszcz Gdanski firefighters are repairing embankments damaged by beavers and wild dogs.

“It's a big problem. Beavers dug out the bulwark and now we’re trying to patch it,” says Jan Borowiec from the town office in Pruszcz Gdanski.

The water is slowly subsiding in the south of Poland, especially in the regions of Silesia, Podkarpacie and Malopolska regions.

In Podkarpacie, 70 rescue workers from Ukraine are pumping out water from basements, wells and drainage ditches with the use of highly efficient pumps. Inhabitants of the areas where water has already withdrawn from have started cleaning and assessing losses. According to preliminary estimates, two percent of Podkarpacie is under water, which corresponds to 120 square kilometers. Around 9,000 people were evacuated from the area. Currently over 1,000 fire fighters, nearly 300 soldiers and six helicopters are taking part in the rescue action. So far 1.5 million bags of sand were used.

In many districts of the Malopolska region, including Nowy Sacz and Wadowice, there are landslides which sometimes cause buildings to collapse. Owners of endangered houses are being evacuated. Over 1,300 inhabitants of Malopolska are left without electricity as flood destroyed power lines. The situation in the Silesia region is still difficult. Although the water is slowly subsiding, many premises, roads and railway tracks are still under water. (mg/pg)

Source: IAR, PAP, TVN24

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