Floods in Central Europe claim 16 lives in Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria

WARSAW, Poland — Exceptionally heavy rains in central Europe have triggered deadly floods in the region, with four new deaths reported Monday in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Romania.

The floods have inundated parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has been unleashing record-breaking rainfall for days. Flooding is expected in Slovakia and Hungary later in the week. So far, 16 deaths have been reported – seven in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Austria.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk called an emergency meeting and later declared a state of emergency in the flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuations and rescue efforts. He also said the government would immediately pay out 1 billion zloty ($258,000) to victims.

Floods in Poland have caused dams and dikes to burst, while receding waters have covered streets with rubble and mud. A hospital in the southwestern Polish city of Nysa had to evacuate around 40 patients.

Schools and offices in the affected areas remained closed on Monday. Drinking water and food were delivered by truck. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have called for food donations for flood survivors.

Experts warned of flood risks due to the Oder River flooding in Opole, a city of about 130,000 inhabitants, and Wroclaw, which has a population of about 640,000 and was hit by devastating floods in 1997.

Firefighters in southwest Poland said flood victims included a surgeon whose body was found in Nysa on Monday morning as he returned from hospital duty. The bodies of two women and two other men were found in other municipalities in the region.

Czech police said a woman and two men drowned in the northeast, where record rainfall has been falling since Thursday. The men were found dead in separate locations after water receded in the town of Krnov, which was almost completely flooded on Sunday.

Romanian authorities announced on Monday that another person had died in the eastern Romanian county of Galati, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to seven.

Previously, one death had been reported from Austria.

Authorities have declared a state of emergency in two regions in northeastern Czechia, including the Jeseníky Mountains near the Polish border.

In the northeast, several towns were flooded and thousands were evacuated. Military helicopters and rescue boats helped to bring people to safety. On Monday, the water masses retreated from the mountainous regions, leaving behind destroyed houses and bridges and damaged roads.

In most parts of the country, the situation was expected to improve during the course of Monday.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited the town of Jesenik, one of the worst affected places.

“The worst is behind us and now we have to deal with all the damage,” Fiala said after the visit.

In Hungary, the mayor of Budapest warned residents that the capital could face the worst flooding in a decade later this week, with waters from the Danube expected to overflow the city's lower quays by Tuesday morning.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán cancelled his planned foreign engagements, including an address to a European Parliament plenary session on Wednesday, where heated debates were expected over his conduct since Hungary took over the EU Council presidency in July.

“Until we reach the peak and have the worst behind us, of course I will not leave the country, I will stay here at home,” he said.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony wrote on Facebook that the city would use a million sandbags to expand flood protection and urged residents to be extra careful near the river.

Karel Janicek reported from Prague. Justin Spike contributed to this report from Budapest, Hungary.