The last 24 hours have been marked by weather cataclysms. Downpours contributed to local floods and forced residents to evacuate. The situation was most difficult in the south of the country. Here are five things worth knowing on Sunday, September 15.
1. Floods, inundations and tornadoes
Great water in the Kłodzko Valley and Opole Region. Alert states, evacuations – extreme weather phenomena and their consequences dominated national news services on Saturday.
The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) forecasted in the Lower Silesia, Opole, Silesia and Lesser Poland voivodeships from Thursday to Sunday rainfall totaling 150 liters per square meterwhich may cause flash floods. In these provinces, a warning for heavy rainfall is in effect the highest – third degree.
The fire brigade intervened almost until 10 p.m. 6.5 thousand times. The spokesman for the State Fire Service, Senior Brigadier Karol Kierzkowski, told PAP that on Saturday, the largest number of interventions related to removing the effects of precipitation, rain and strong wind took place in the following provinces: Silesia – 2,646, Lower Silesia – 2,034, Opole – 505, Lesser Poland – 314, Łódź – 182, Greater Poland – 178 and 15 interventions in Mazovia.
The towns in the commune are at risk of flooding. Bystrzyca Klodzka; evacuation of residents of lower-lying villages was ordered; the commune stopped the operation of the sewage treatment plant.
The dam near Bystrzyca KłodzkaTVN24
Parts of the flooded area include: Lądek-Zdrój, Stronie Śląskie, Bystrzyca and smaller towns in the Kłodzko commune. Roads in the vicinity of Lądek-Zdrój and Stronie Śląskie are impassable. The Lower Silesian Voivode Maciej Awiżeń reported that many communal and district roads in other parts of the voivodeship are impassable. Evacuations were carried out in Lądek-Zdrój, Świerzawa, Jelenia Góra (tourists who evacuated themselves), Stronie Śląskie. Planned evacuations reported by local governments are to be carried out in Bardo, Mysłakowice, Marciszów and in smaller towns of the Kłodzko commune. The governor requested military assistance.
Downpour in Jawor (Lower Silesia)Hermes11/Contact24
The services tried to strengthen the structure of the temporary bridge over Biała Głuchołaska in Głuchołazy (Opole Province). Stone cubes have been poured onto the roadway, the weight of which is to weigh down and stabilize the bridgeheads. There is a real risk that the water will damage the bridge and overflow the embankments. Due to the terrain, if this happens, it will be able to return to its bed only after flooding Bodzanów and Świętów.
GlucholazyTVN24
At least a dozen roofs of residential and farm buildings were damaged as a result of the tornado that passed through the city on Saturday afternoon. Jedlińsk commune, next to Radom (Masovian Voivodeship). Damage was reported in four locations in the commune – Wierzchowiny, Urbanów, Kruszyna and Boża Wola.
2. Police Chief's Accident
On Saturday, the Chief of Police, Superintendent Marek Boroń, had an accident. His car overturned. The police chief was heading to Głuchołazy, where there is extreme rainfall. He was taken to hospital Ministry of Interior and Administration in Katowice.
As TVN24 reporter Marta Abramczyk learned, no other cars were involved in the accident. The car carrying three people – the commander, his driver and an officer from the Police Headquarters – was heading to the flood areas in Głuchołazy, where the weather is the worst and there are extreme rainfalls. Neither Boroń nor the two other men were seriously hurt. They were taken to a hospital in Katowice for detailed tests.
According to the reporter, all three men are conscious, Commander Boroń complained of chest pain, most likely caused by wearing seat belts.
As tvn24.pl journalist Robert Zieliński learned, blood was taken from the driver of the car at the scene of the accident, and a breathalyzer test showed that he was sober.
Read more: The Chief of Police had an accident >>>
3. She was stuck in a car that was flooded with water.
In Kałków near Nysa (Opole Province), a woman driving a passenger car tried to cross a flooded road. Her vehicle stopped, and the surging water cut off her escape.
– We are still gathering information about this incident. We have determined that a woman driving through the town of Kałków wanted to cross a partially flooded road. When she was approaching a culvert over the river, the car hit a hole in the road and became immobilized – said Mateusz Zieleziecki, who is on duty at the District Control Station.
Firefighters intervened on the spot. – Thanks to the use of an excavator belonging to one of the residents, it was possible to safely approach the car and evacuate the woman – added Mateusz Zieleziecki.
4. Protest of PiS politicians
Law and Justice protested on Saturday in front of the Ministry of Justice in Warsaw against the government's actions. The president PIS Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced that his party will start collect signatures for a referendum on the relocation of immigrants. He also said that his party was “at the end of the road” to selecting a candidate in the presidential election.
He indicated that his camp needed “one strongly supported candidate”. – Let's not be fooled by all the fairy tales that we need new candidates who are sometimes from unclear circles – he said.
– We are already at the end of this road to selecting him. This is a road through sociological research. We need to know what society expects, what the average Polish voter expects – he added.
Main image source: PAP/Maciej Kulczyński