Opole firefighters spokesman reassures after dramatic evacuation appeal

A dramatic video was posted on Facebook by Grzegorz Zawiślak, the mayor of Prudnik.

– Listen to this appeal, your life depends on it – Zawiślak began his report and handed the floor to Krzysztof Wiciak, commander of the State Fire Service in Prudnik.

– Ladies and Gentlemen, residents of Moszczanka and Łąka Prudnicka, evacuate as soon as possible, I have information about a breach on the embankment in Jarnołtówek, the dam is in danger. Evacuate as soon as you can – said Wiciak.

– The appeal is very serious, we cannot waste time on dilemmas, we have to leave. If the dam breaks, your homes will be destroyed and your lives will be endangered. We will provide accommodation in Prudnik – assured the Prudnik starost Radosław Roszkowski.

Captain Łukasz Nowak, press spokesman for the Opole Provincial Commander of the State Fire Service, soon responded to the appeal of local government officials and the commander of the Prudnik fire department.

– I personally visited the indicated location and I know that the situation is not as clearly tragic as the commander reported on social media. I will contact him to clarify the matter. I am convinced that at this stage the situation is so serious that informing about threats that are not so clear can only obscure the picture of the situation – said Capt. Nowak.

Asked whether residents should refrain from evacuating because of this, he said that residents must remember that flooding is ongoing and residents of threatened areas should not wait until the last minute. – We appeal for prudence, but at the same time there is no need to further scare residents – he added.

The dramatic situation in Jarnołtówek was also commented on on Sunday by the president of Wody Polskie, Joanna Kopczyńska. The fact that the reservoir is currently under special concern was confirmed by the president of Wody Polskie on Sunday afternoon, speaking at a briefing after the meeting of the national crisis team at the Provincial Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Katowice (attended by, among others, the heads of the Ministry of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Ministry of Interior and Administration Tomasz Siemoniak or MI Darius Klimczak).

– There are services there. We evacuated our employee from the place itself, but we are there and it is under our special control – declared President Kopczyńska. She pointed out that other places of special involvement of Polish Waters are places where embankments seep or overflow. – There are many of these phenomena, in all these places there are employees of Polish Waters – she emphasized.

– We are also bringing in employees from other regional water management boards – where there are no flood problems. These are both technical support teams and engineering teams. So in fact, each facility is currently under special supervision, but Jarnołtówek is causing us the greatest concern – admitted the president of Wody Polskie. The dry reservoir in Jarnołtówek, which normally operates as a reservoir, was almost full on Sunday afternoon, and due to the constant inflow of water, it was not ruled out that it would be necessary to increase the discharge of water from the reservoir to balance the level.

– The situation in Jarnołtówek is indeed difficult, evacuations have already taken place there. We inform in advance that there will be difficult situations based on analyses and simulations and hydraulic models regarding reservoirs, when we receive information about the weather – added President Kopczyńska.

The dry flood protection reservoir in Jarnołtówek on Złoty Potok has a capacity of approx. 2.25 million cubic meters of water. It was funded by the Empress of Prussia Augusta Victoria after the flood in 1903. It was built in the years 1906–09. The 15.4 m high stone dam with a 50 m long earthen rampart divides the Złoty Potok valley, which is narrowed at this point, near the Polish–Czech border. During normal operation, the Jarnołtówek reservoir dam does not accumulate water. During the flood in July 1980, it was in poor condition: water seeped through the cracks, and there was a risk of collapse. In the 1980s, the dam was renovated, sealing the walls and the rampart with cement and lime injections. In 2011, the dam underwent another renovation