Environmental Protection AgencyHeavy rain, strong winds and flood warnings have been issued for much of Italy as a powerful storm that has swept across central Europe reaches the country.
Flooding has already been reported in the central city of Pescara, and a weather warning from the Italian meteorological agency extends from the northern coast of Emilia-Romagna all the way to the southernmost part.
The warning appears as follows: Parts of Poland were destroyed by floods.At least 21 deaths have been reported this week in the Czech Republic, Romania and Austria.
Authorities in Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia also warned of flooding in the coming days.
The severe flooding was caused by Storm Bori, which brought heavy rain and snow over the weekend.
More than 5,000 soldiers have been deployed to help residents in southern Poland, including 40,000 people evacuated from the town of Nysa.
In some areas flooding has receded while in others it has spread, and in Polish cities such as Gluckoły the scale of the damage has been revealed.
As the river rose, the town’s main bridge was damaged and collapsed, and much of the street was covered in mud.
Polish police confirmed at least six people had died on Tuesday and warned against “false information” following media reports that the death toll was more than a dozen.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has declared a month-long state of natural disaster, with the worst flooding expected in Wroclaw on Wednesday.
The Czech-Polish border region was one of the hardest hit, with 15,000 people also evacuated from the Czech Republic.
According to local NGO ÄŒlovÄ›k v tÃsn, the country has suffered its worst floods in 27 years.
Ostrava became one of the worst-hit cities when torrential rains caused the Oder River to overflow on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, water levels on the Danube River in Slovakia and Hungary continue to rise rapidly, with the Slovak capital Bratislava and Hungary’s Budapest bracing for possible flooding.
In some areas, emergency services and volunteers, supported by the military, are working around the clock to protect low-lying settlements in the area.
ReutersAustrian authorities have banned shipping traffic on the Danube River, a vital waterway, due to high water levels, local media reported.
The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service warned that river waters could rise “very rarely” and confirmed plans were in place to install flood barriers if necessary.
~ inside Italy, the country of The National Civil Protection Agency has also issued a yellow alert for storms, landslides and flooding for about 50 areas tomorrow.
Professor Hannah Cloke, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, told the BBC that many of the smaller rivers in eastern Europe hit by floods had reached their peak levels.
She added: “Some major rivers, such as the Danube and the Oder, are still partially flooded and will not see levels fall again until late Tuesday or Wednesday, and will remain well above normal.”
Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions are identified as the areas of greatest concern, according to the BBC weather forecast.
The area could see one to two months’ worth of rain in just the next three days, raising concerns about potential flooding.
Firefighters in Pescara, Abruzzo, say they have already received more than 200 requests for help after heavy rain caused flooding.
In Romania, more rain is forecast for the Eastern Carpathians, putting already hard-hit cities and towns in the Galati and Vaslui provinces at risk.
Getty ImagesAs in many parts of the world, extreme rainfall events are becoming more frequent and intense in Central Europe.
The situation in Central Europe is showing signs of extreme rainfall due to global warming, but it is not yet possible to quantify how much of a role climate change has played.
To know for sure, a full scientific analysis of the natural and human impacts would be needed, which could take weeks or months.
But climate scientists have been warning for years that such extreme precipitation events could occur more frequently due to global warming.
Warmer air holds more moisture, which leads to heavier rainfall.
As ocean waters warm, evaporation increases, making it easier for storms to form.
For every 1 degree Celsius increase in global average temperature, the atmosphere can hold about 7 percent more moisture.
Professor Cloke told the BBC that experts predict that climate change will make flooding worse in coming years as global temperatures continue to rise. “This is because extreme summer rainfall is becoming more intense and rivers are filling up faster.”
She also said: “Just a few weeks ago, parts of southern and eastern Europe were struggling with drought, heatwaves and fires.”
“We got out of the woods and into hot water.”
