“Extreme flood level”. Drama beyond the Polish border

Tomasz Navratil – mayor of the city of Opava in the Moravian-Silesian Region, in the east Czech – announced on Saturday evening the beginning of the evacuation of thousands of city residents from areas threatened by high water. The Opava River has already overflowed its banks in several places.

The evacuation concerns the largest settlement in Opava, Katerzinka, but residents of other areas and two villages located near Opava are also to leave their homes.

The flood is expected to peak on Sunday night, between 2 and 6 a.m. Firefighters have been clearing the riverbeds under the bridges since Saturday evening, removing trees, branches and other debris so that the water can flow as easily as possible and nothing blocks it.

The mayor said schools, gyms and community centres will be used as evacuation centres. For those who have to leave their homes, drinks, water, food and cleaning products are prepared. Some residents are finding shelter with relatives and friends.

Navratil announced that security requirements will be increased in the evacuated areas. He assured that no one will force people who do not want to leave the evacuated areas to do so.

Authorities predict that the Opava River's flow could be up to 500 cubic metres per second, up from around 380 cubic metres per second during the devastating flood in 1997.

In the same region, Moravian-Silesian, the hospital in Bohumín is being evacuated. It was necessary to find places for 120 patients in other medical facilities. This applies primarily to patients from the palliative care department. The hospital building itself was not directly threatened by the flood, but underground waters threatened the power station and there was a risk that hospital equipment would stop working.

The Olomouc region in the Czech Republic has declared a state of emergency due to flooding. The situation is critical in the Jeseníky region. About 200 people have been evacuated there.

In Czech Silesia, evacuations were ordered in several towns near the Polish border. People found temporary accommodation with relatives, but also in student dorms or gyms.

In Jeseník in the Olomouc region, further evacuations are a matter of hours, local authorities estimate. The situation is also complicated in Mikulowice on the Białka River, which has flooded several houses. An evacuation was also carried out there.

There are about 80 places in the whole country where the third, highest alert level is currently exceeded. On some rivers, the situation is described by hydrologists as “extreme flood level”.