Firefighters together with soldiers will evacuate the Nursing and Treatment Facility in Paczków on Tuesday. Military helicopters were used. 37 patients are to be transported to other hospitals.
Patients from the Paczków care and treatment facility are transported in military vehicles to the nearby stadium, from where they are carried on stretchers to military helicopters, which then take them to nearby facilities in the Opole province.
As reported by Capt. Paweł Potasiak from the Rescue and Firefighting Unit in Paczków, who is taking part in the action, a total of 37 people who were staying at the center are to be evacuated. Opole Spokesman National Health Fund informed that the decision to evacuate was due, among other things, to a lack of workers. Some of them are unable to get to work due to the flooding.
– The patients were taken to ZOL in Brzeg, Namysłów, Głogówek, Dobrodzień, Wołczyn and Opole (where most people ended up) – said Barbara Pawlos, spokeswoman for the Opole branch of the National Health Fund. They were bedridden and dependent people, requiring constant care.
– Therefore, for the safety of patients, it was decided to transfer those who require special care. Currently, patients in better condition have stayed in ZOL, they are in higher parts of the building – said Barbara Pawlos.
On Monday, the evacuation of Paczków took place
Due to the threat, approximately 2.5 thousand residents were evacuated from Paczków on Monday.but there are still a lot of sandbags on the city streets, with almost all basement windows sealed. Bags can also be seen near shops and at intersections. Some roads are closed to traffic.
Evacuation in PaczkówTVN24
Capt. Paweł Potasiak reported that as a result of recent flooding, the most difficult situation is on Młyńska, Nyska, Moniuszki, Kolejowa and Mostowa streets in Paczków.
– There is the most action there. Dziewiętlice, Trzeboszowice were also badly damaged, and actions are also being carried out there. Practically all the villages in the area have been flooded – he noted.
The firefighter said that in some places the water is receding and only now can we see what it is leaving behind.
– The cleaning is starting, people are cleaning their properties. We are starting to help them – he said.
Evacuation in PaczkówTVN24
He added that firefighters are also helping energy and water services.
Paczkow is a small town which – as we read on the commune's website – was founded by the Bishop of Wrocław, Thomas I, in 1254. There are many well-preserved monuments in the city.
Main image source: PAP/Marcin Kucharzewski