Flood 2024. Wrocław – the peak wave is expected to arrive from Wednesday to Thursday. The predicted level is 559 cm

During Wednesday's meeting of the crisis team in Wrocław, IMGW informed about the current situation in the city and possible threats. – As for Trestno – this is the most important section for Wrocław – the condition is very stable, the increases are quite small. It seems that Wrocław is safe at the moment. As for the rivers that flow into the vicinity of Wrocław, at the moment the Bystrzyca is in the worst condition, here the condition is still the most worrying, but this is more due to this discharge from Mietków – said Robert Czerniawski, director of IMGW, at Wednesday's meeting.

READ ALSO: Water Backflow in Wrocław? “There are several sensitive places”

According to the latest forecasts the peak wave is expected to reach Wrocław on the night from Wednesday to Thursday and it is expected to flow through the city for at least a few, or even a dozen or so hours. – The next 48 hours will be critical, because then we will have to deal with the culmination of the flood wave in Opole and Wrocław – he said on Wednesday in “Rozmowa Piaseckiego” Cezary TomczykDeputy Minister of National Defense.

– When the culminating wave begins to flow in Wrocław, then there may be a backflow in Bystrzyca, Ślęza and Oława and there may be flooding there. This state should decrease together with the retreat of the culminating wave, so it should be safe around Saturday. As for the Widawa River, it is completely safe. We have a threat situation on the Bóbr, but this is an alarm situation – added the director of IMGW.

During the evening crisis team meeting, the president of Polish Waters, Joanna Kopczyńska, said that the predicted water level during the peak wave is 559 cm, “which is 170 cm less than the maximum from 1997”. – So it should pass through Wrocław without any major damage – she emphasized.

Kopczyńska indicated that the culmination will be spread out over time and may last several days. – From September 21, there should be a decrease in this culmination, everything should level out – she assessed.

The flood wave on the Odra is moving through Oława and approaching Wrocław. In the place where the river flows into the capital of Lower Silesia, the water level from morning to early afternoon on Wednesday it rose by almost 40 centimeters. The latest forecast from IMGW shows that the peak in Wrocław is expected on the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

Read also: When will the flood wave reach Wrocław? New IMGW forecast

The mayor of Wrocław addressed the issue on Wednesday afternoon during a short meeting with journalists. – We are observing what is happening at the moment. For now, there are no larger discharges than the one that is currently ongoing, which is 100 cubic meters per second from the reservoir in Mietków. For now, there are no declarations of a higher discharge of water. This is good news – said Jacek Sutryk.

He added that “in some places the water is either stabilizing or even dropping slightly”. – This high water will persist for several days. This is our biggest concern today. This is a certain risk and danger for the embankments, which will continue to work, already very strained today – Sutryk emphasized.

In Wrocław, the embankments are still being reinforced. – Wherever possible, we are additionally reinforcing the embankments. We are doing this at the height of the sewage treatment plant. Of course, we are also monitoring other rivers. We have closed the gates, protecting ourselves from the backflow on the Ługowina. Generally, the backflow would be the biggest challenge for us – Jacek Sutryk summed up.

“The evacuation of the only one has begun flooded farm in Jarnołtów. The owner decided that the animals, horses and goats, would be moved first. All safe and sound,” reports the press office of the City Hall in Wrocław.

Water from Bystrzyca appeared on part of the streets of Stabłowicathe fight for residential buildings continues.

“Seeing the concerns of the residents of Stabłowice, we inform you that soldiers and the fire brigade have been sent to the site. Sandbags are also being delivered,” the press office informs. “According to hydrologists, the level of the Strzegomka – the largest tributary of the Bystrzyca, is starting to fall. This means that the water level in the Bystrzyca is also starting to decrease. The current high level in the Bystrzyca is the result of an increase in water discharge from Mietków to 100 m3/s,” it adds in the announcement.

A unit of soldiers was delegated to help the Słoneczne Stabłowice housing estate. WOT. Bags and sand were also delivered there.

At 12 o'clock the Średzkie bridges on the Bystrzyca River and Ludowa Street were closed. “Vehicle and pedestrian traffic on Średzka Street will be directed to the adjacent bridges over which the tracks run. The reason for the closure is the need to ensure efficient access and the possibility of work for services in the event of the need to remove wood debris carried by the fast-flowing Bystrzyca River. Ludowa Street was closed at 10:00 a.m.,” the city office reports.

As of Thursday, high water will be flowing through Wrocław, which is why the city is also securing the mouths of the Bystrzyca, Ślęza, and Oława into the Oder. This is to protect the remaining rivers from the possibility of backflow, i.e. water being forced into smaller rivers from the Oder.

“With the current water discharge from Mietków at the level of 100 m3/s and even 140 m3/s, there is no need to work on the embankments. However, we are not sure whether the discharge of water from the reservoir in Mietków or some failure will not cause more water to flow. Therefore, we will prepare the Bystrzyca as if it were to flow even 400 m3/s. We are protecting ourselves,” the city press office reports.

The city intends to foil the embankment from the mouth to the Brodzki Bridge on the side of the Janówek sewage treatment plant, and the embankment from the side of Pracze Odrzańskie will also be raised from the mouth to the railway bridge in Pracze. “Both sides are a total of sectional work on a length of 4 km of the embankment. This work is already underway. We are supported in this by the Army, WOT soldiers, the Guard and fire cadets. We are currently determining how much the embankments need to be raised with hydrologists. From the initial calculations, it is about the height – about 30 cm” – we read in the announcement.

Officials also reassure residents about the Ślęza River. “There are high embankments here from Rędzińska and Dworska or the terrain is naturally shaped in such a way that the river flows low and even in the event of a backwater it will remain in the riverbed. A new embankment was built from the Kozanów side to protect against backwater. At the height of Tarczyński Arena we have a hydroelectric power plant on a water stage, the height of which blocks further water from flowing into the Ślęza,” they write.

In the case of the Oława River, the water may flow back to the Małgorzata Pumping Station. “We will close the Małgorzata Weir and start pumps that will pump excess water from the Oława to the other side towards the Oder. From the mouth to the Małgorzata Weir, the embankment is high enough on both sides,” the officials added.

Wrocław is preparing to receive water from the Oder at a level of 3,100 cubic meters per second, although the current forecast calls for a level of 2,100-2,600.

– Over the past 24 hours, we have been focusing in particular on the Bystrzyca and its Wrocław section. Several families living in the lowest sections in the river areas have been informed about the higher water level of the Bystrzyca due to the increased discharge to the reservoir in Mietków. Yesterday, the embankments that protect the Bystrzyca riverbed were significantly raised. Water appeared on Główna Street in Stabłowice, and this is water from the drainage ditch, which slightly exceeds the streets and then flows by gravity into the Bystrzyca River. We are monitoring this situation – said Jacek Sutryk at the crisis team meeting.

Specific actions on the embankments are dictated by the flood protection plan, about 40 percent of the bags and reinforcements placed in 1997 did not work because they were in the wrong place or at the wrong height. According to the Wrocław City Office, actions are now carried out in accordance with plans drawn up by surveyors, who indicate where the height of the embankments should be improved and where it does not have to be done.

Sandbags are being placed in the Marszowice housing estate to reinforce the embankments and protect the residents of this part of Wrocław's Leśnica.

– The embankments at Marszowice 1 and Marszowice 2 have been raised, we are monitoring this situation in relation to information about possible backwaters, if this increased wave from Bystrzyca were to meet this obstacle in the form of higher levels on the Oder. If such a situation occurred, I would ask for information as soon as possible, because this backwater was our greatest misfortune in 1997. The situation on the Oder from the Siechnice side looks calm – we have new embankments there, as well as on the Widawa canal – he added.