Severe floods in Central Europe turn deadly in Poland and Austria

The death toll was rising in Central European countries on Sunday after days of heavy rains caused widespread flooding and forced mass evacuations.

Several Central European nations have already been hit by severe flooding, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, while Slovakia and Hungary might come next, as a result of a low pressure system from northern Italy dumping record rainfall in the region since Thursday.

The floods have claimed five lives in Romania, one each in Austria and Poland. In the Czech Republic, four people who were swept away by waters were missing, police said.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday morning, "We have the first confirmed death by drowning, in the Klodzko region" on the Polish-Czech border.

A dam burst above the town of Stronie Śląskie in Lower Silesia, sending great volumes of water cascading through the streets.

Poland's fire departments posted video on X of people in difficulty in flooded streets.

Poland's southwest has been hit the hardest forcing around 1,600 people of the town of Klodzko to evacuate. Polish authorities call in the army to support overwhelmed firefighters with rescue operations - the fire department also posted this photo on X of one of its fire trucks caught up in the floods in the town of Stronie Slaskie.

On Saturday, Polish authorities shut the Golkowice border crossing with the Czech Republic after a river flooded its banks, also affecting the train line linking the towns of Prudnik and Nysa.

Most parts of the Czech Republic have been affected as authorities declared the highest flood warnings at around 100 places across the country. But the situation was worst in two northeastern regions that recorded the biggest rainfall in recent