Czech Republic, Poland report flooding following severe rainfall

Flooding has been reported in the Czech Republic and neighbouring Poland caused by heavy rainfall overnight.

Emergency forces in both countries have been preparing for severe weather since Friday.

Heavy rains in the region of the Elbe and Vltava rivers in the Czech Republic caused the water level of the Elbe to rise.

Authorities have issued the third flood alert level for around 20 rivers and streams, Czech news agency CTK reported.

Elsewhere, the sudden rainfall caused flooding.

The village of Mikulovice near the Polish border was flooded in the early morning, as seen on footage published by Czech television on social media platform X.

In the southern city of Ceske Budejovice, firefighters have been setting up flood barriers along the Malse and Vltava rivers since Friday evening.

In Prague, preparations for the expected flooding of the Vltava were in full swing, with flood barriers being erected along the river banks. Shipping traffic has been suspended.

Water levels in rivers in the Czech Republic are expected to rise further over the weekend, according to meteorologists. Some areas have seen between 50 to 110 litres of rainfall per square metre since Friday.

Across the border in south-western Poland, the Biala Glucholaska river burst its banks in the Opole region.

Some 400 residents of the village of Glucholazy, near Mikulovice in the Czech Republic, had to be evacuated. Interior Minister Tomasz Simoniak visited the scene, posting pictures of rescue efforts on X.

Some 100 firefighters and 60 police officers had been deployed to the village, he said.

Some of the residents of the village of Morow also had to be evacuated because the Mora river burst its banks there. The fire department responded to a total of 400 calls in the region.

Poland's Meteorological Institute expects the rains to continue.