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More Areas of Central Europe Race Against Time as Floods Approach

Local residents use sandbags for flood protection efforts in the village of Szentendre, 20km north of the Hungarian capital Budapest on September 17, 2024. (Photo by FERENC ISZA / AFP)
Local residents use sandbags for flood protection efforts in the village of Szentendre, 20km north of the Hungarian capital Budapest on September 17, 2024. (Photo by FERENC ISZA / AFP)
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More Areas of Central Europe Race Against Time as Floods Approach

Local residents use sandbags for flood protection efforts in the village of Szentendre, 20km north of the Hungarian capital Budapest on September 17, 2024. (Photo by FERENC ISZA / AFP)
Local residents use sandbags for flood protection efforts in the village of Szentendre, 20km north of the Hungarian capital Budapest on September 17, 2024. (Photo by FERENC ISZA / AFP)

Volunteers and emergency personnel worked through the night from Tuesday to Wednesday to fortify the Polish city of Wroclaw against approaching flood waters, while Hungary opened a dam as the prime minister warned a "crucial period" was approaching.
The worst floods to hit central Europe in at least two decades have left a trail of destruction from Romania to Poland, spreading mud and debris in towns, destroying bridges, submerging cars and leaving authorities and householders with a bill for damages that will run into billions of dollars.
"A lot happened tonight," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a crisis meeting in Wroclaw. "We will need urgent information... from those places that received high water."
Towns to the south of Wroclaw, such as Lewin Brzeski, have already felt the full force of the floods, forcing residents to wade through the streets in waist-high water or seek refuge on the roofs of the entrances to blocks of flats, Reuters reported.

In Hungary, authorities opened a dam in the country's northwest to channel water from the Lajta river into an emergency reservoir, in a bid to protect the city of Mosonmagyarovar.
The water was allowed to flow onto agricultural land.
In the capital Budapest, the Danube is still expected to peak around or slightly above 8.5 metres, likely on Friday or Saturday.
"Due to heavy rains and floods, the situation is critical all across Central Europe," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a post on social media platform X late on Tuesday.
"According to the latest forecasts, the crucial period for Hungary will begin tomorrow (Wednesday), so flood protection is going full steam ahead.
Drone footage from Tuesday showed the Hungarian village of Venek, near Gyor in the north of the country, submerged under water.
"I think it's kind of connected to the climate change because it's a sudden flood," said 51 year-old local resident Georg Bercsanyi.
"It was raining for four days in the area, especially around Vienna in Austria. So that's why we have this high water level now."
In the Czech Republic, water levels were mostly receding, but rivers were still peaking in some parts of southern Bohemia.
In the worst-hit areas local residents and emergency services were cleaning up part of the railway line form Prague to Ostrava, which is also on the Vienna-Warsaw route, and was still out of operation, as well as some secondary rail lines and roads.
Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said on Tuesday he would like parliament to approve an amendment to the budget to make room for flood relief, even though the cost of the damage is still not known. Stanjura said it could perhaps be in the order of $4 billion.

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Hurricane Helene Threatens 'Unsurvivable' Storm Surge and Vast Inland Damage

A view of the Tropical Storm Helene from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) airplane, September 25,2024 is seen in this screen grab obtained from social media video. Nick Underwood, NOAA/via REUTERS
A view of the Tropical Storm Helene from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) airplane, September 25,2024 is seen in this screen grab obtained from social media video. Nick Underwood, NOAA/via REUTERS
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Hurricane Helene Threatens 'Unsurvivable' Storm Surge and Vast Inland Damage

A view of the Tropical Storm Helene from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) airplane, September 25,2024 is seen in this screen grab obtained from social media video. Nick Underwood, NOAA/via REUTERS
A view of the Tropical Storm Helene from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) airplane, September 25,2024 is seen in this screen grab obtained from social media video. Nick Underwood, NOAA/via REUTERS

Fast-moving Hurricane Helene was advancing Thursday across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, threatening an “unsurvivable” storm surge in northwestern parts of the state as well as damaging winds, rains and flash floods hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern US, the National Weather Service in Tallahassee said.
Helene is expected to be a major hurricane — meaning a Category 3 or higher — when it makes landfall on Florida's northwestern coast Thursday evening. As of early Thursday, hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas have all declared emergencies in their states, The Associated Press reported.
The weather service forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and life-threatening” in Florida's Apalachee Bay. It added that high winds and heavy rains also posed risks.
“This forecast, if realized, is a nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay,” the office said. “Please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!”
In Crawfordville, farther inland and about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Apalachee Bay, Christine Nazworth stocked up on bottled water, baked goods and premade meals at a Walmart. She said her family would be sheltering in place, despite Wakulla County issuing a mandatory evacuation order.
“I’m prayed up,” she said. “Lord have mercy on us. And everybody else that might be in its path.”
Wakulla County was one of several to issue evacuation orders. Along Florida's Gulf Coast, school districts and multiple universities have cancelled classes.
Early Thursday, Helene was about 350 miles (560 kilometers) southwest of Tampa and moving north northeast at 12 mph (19 kph) with top sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph). Forecasters said it should become a major Category 3 or higher hurricane, meaning winds would top 110 mph (177 kph).
While Helene will likely weaken as it moves inland, its “fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States,” including in the southern Appalachian Mountains, the National Hurricane Center said. The center posted lesser tropical storm warnings as far north as North Carolina, and warned that much of the region could experience prolonged power outages, toppled trees and dangerous flooding.
Helene had swamped parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, flooding streets and toppling trees as it passed offshore and brushed the resort city of Cancun.
The storm formed Tuesday in the Caribbean Sea. In Cuba, the government preventively shut off power in some communities as waves as high as 16 feet (5 meters) slammed Cortes Bay. And in the Cayman Islands, schools closed and residents pumped water from flooded homes.
Rain was already falling steadily in Atlanta on Wednesday evening as shoppers emptied shelves of water at a Kroger supermarket east of downtown. The National Weather Service in Atlanta issued flash flood warnings for much of the state.
Charles McComb said he still found it hard to believe Helene would seriously impact the city, which is more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of the Gulf of Mexico. “It would be really unique for it to hit so far inland,” Charles said as he bought water, bread and lunch meat.
He was, however, worried about losing electricity.
“I do live in an area where it doesn’t take so much for the power to go out,” he said.
Helene is forecast to be one of the largest storms in breadth in years to hit the region, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He said since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes were bigger than Helene’s predicted size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma and 1995’s Opal.
Areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line can expect hurricane conditions. More than half of Georgia’s public school districts and several universities canceled classes.
For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst strike on a major Southern inland city in 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd.
Landslides were possible in southern Appalachia, and rainfall was expected as far away as Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.
Federal authorities have positioned generators, food and water, along with search-and-rescue and power restoration teams.
Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures.
In further storm activity, Tropical Storm Isaac formed Wednesday in the Atlantic and was expected to strengthen as it moves eastward across the open ocean, possibly becoming a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said. Isaac was about 690 miles (1,115 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda with top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami, which said its swells and winds could affect parts of Bermuda and eventually the Azores by the weekend.
In the Pacific, former Hurricane John reformed Wednesday as a tropical storm and was strengthening as it threatened areas of Mexico’s western coast. Officials posted hurricane warnings for southwestern Mexico.
John hit the country’s southern Pacific coast late Monday, killing at least two people, triggering mudslides, and damaging homes and trees. It grew into a Category 3 hurricane in a matter of hours and made landfall east of Acapulco. It reemerged over the ocean after weakening inland.