Death toll rises as storm Boris lashes central, eastern Europe

One person has drowned in Poland and an Austrian fireman has died responding to floods, authorities said Sunday, as Storm Boris lashed central and eastern Europe with torrential rains. The deaths bring the overall toll from the storm to seven, with thousands evacuated across the continent.

Since Thursday, swathes of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have been hit by high winds and unusually heavy rainfall.

The rains have flooded streets and submerged entire neighbourhoods in some places, while shutting down public transport and electricity in others.

On Saturday, four people died in floods in southeastern Romania, with the bodies found in the worst-affected region, Galati in the southeast, where 5,000 homes were damaged.

Another body was found in the same region on Sunday.

"We are again facing the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present on the European continent, with dramatic consequences," Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said.

'Nothing left'

Hundreds of people have been rescued across 19 parts of the country, emergency services said, releasing a video of flooded homes in a village by the Danube river.

"This is a catastrophe of epic proportions," said Emil Dragomir, mayor of Slobozia Conachi, a village in Galati, where he said 700 homes had been flooded.

Why climate change is heating Europe faster than the rest of the world

Romania's interior minister said more than 15,000 people were affected in the region.

Read more on RFI English

Read also:
Why is northern France so vulnerable to treacherous flooding?
Seven dead after storms lash France, Switzerland
Four in five people want more climate action: UN survey