The clean-up after the recent downpour, which was exceptionally heavy in Warsaw and other places, has not yet ended. Cloudbursts over hot, concreted cities may occur more often, warn hydrologists. According to experts, green areas in cities should be developed to mitigate the effects of heavy rains, while expanding the sewage system to be able to drain water from the worst downpours on an ongoing basis is not a practical solution.
In Warsaw's Mokotów district, right next to the Służewiecki Stream, there was so much water that firefighters pumped it out for two nights. – We are without water, without electricity, it's been three days already. My husband and I lost two cars, a storage room where valuable things were. We expect a quick response from the city, help – confessed one of the injured people.
Cars were in water up to their roofs. – If someone tried to save their car, there would be a big risk that the curtains would close under the pressure of the water, so there was a risk that the person would simply not get out – informed Ilona Nazaruk from the board of the Housing Community “Green Mokotów 1”.
SEE MORE: Two exceptionally difficult days. Your photos of flooded Warsaw
On Wednesday, most of Warsaw's streets were passable. Cleaning and counting of losses are underway. According to the mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, neither the blame for the water spill from the Służewiecki Stream nor the blame for the problems on the S8 route lies with the city. – I hope that at this moment the government institutions responsible for this – Polish Waters for the Służewiecki Stream, the General Directorate for Motorways for the motorways – will be ready to take responsibility. On the other hand, we are ready to cooperate – said Rafał Trzaskowski. The climatologists and hydrologists we talk to agree that we have to get used to such downpours and floods. – There is an effect of humid, very warm air, and it does not take much for a large amount of this air to be released. It is August, we have hot, very muggy air – indicates Dr. Hab. Bogdan Chojnicki, a climatologist. – For years, scientists and climatologists have been saying that the higher the temperature, the more violent the phenomena that occur during hot weather will be – comments Tomasz Wasilewski, a journalist at tvnmeteo.pl.
Warsaw Mokotów – flooded Green Mokotów estateZeusOla/ Contact 24
What could be improved?
The last few days have shown how little we are prepared for extreme downpours. Photos from the flooded section of the S8 route may remind us of what was in that place several dozen years ago – the Rudawka River. – We can say that water remembers (…) and it would like to pour in the place where it always did, only we prevented it – emphasizes Dr. Sebastian Szklarek, ecohydrologist from the Polish Academy of Sciences, founder of the blog “Świat wody”.
WARSAW ROUTE S8 FLOODED AFTER DOWNLOADPAP/Rafal Guz
Rafał Trzaskowski admits that he cannot guarantee that such flooding will not occur in the capital again. – Heavy rains are happening all over Europe and the world. We cannot guarantee that there will be no local flooding – there will be, the only thing we can guarantee is good coordination of services – said the mayor of Warsaw.
Hydrologists and climatologists point out that cities can be helped – by fighting against concrete, greening and not building on floodplains. – If there are places where water collects, then you can skip building anything there, and leave a place for water to soak in – from time to time it will be flooded, but it will not be socially costly – indicates Dr. Hab. Bogdan Chojnicki, climatologist.
The situation is more difficult where buildings are already standing. – The sewage system was designed several dozen years ago, in some cities several hundred years ago, and it is not prepared for such heavy rainfall – reminds Grzegorz Walijewski, spokesman for IMGW, the National Hydrological Protection Center.
Climate change is progressing, as evidenced by extreme heat. “Temperatures in Europe are rising much faster than in Africa”Grzegorz Maciążek/Fakty po Południe TVN24
Hydrologists: the most important thing is greenery in cities
The climate in Poland is changing at a rapid pace. In one day, twice as much rain fell in the capital than is normally the case for an entire month. However, as experts point out, improving the sewage system so that water does not flood the streets during such downpours is practically impossible.
– The sewage system cannot handle this, we would have to build a sewage system the size of buses, and this also involves costs – not only of construction, but also of maintenance – informs Dr. Sebastian Szklarek.
That is why – as we hear – greenery is the most important in cities. – The vegetation that grows, if it is woody vegetation, it captures a certain amount of water. This is about two liters per square meter, then this water starts to percolate further to the surface, but later we also have a surface that is often quite porous so that water can percolate into it – explains Dr. Hab. Bogdan Chojnicki. Heavy downpours are also forecast for Wednesday, although not as extreme as in recent days. – Record-breaking downpours (…) will not repeat themselves. There will still be, for example this afternoon and evening, storms and downpours, but there will be both storms and downpours that happen in summer in our climate – informs Tomasz Wasilewski from tvnmeteo.pl.
The end of the holidays should be rain-free, but we are expecting more heat.
Main image source: PAP/Szymon Pulcyn