Polish town keeps floods at bay as battle continues in Central Europe

Thousands of residents in the south-western Polish town of Nysa rallied on Tuesday to successfully prevent the breaching of a crucial dyke, as severe flooding across Central and Eastern Europe continues to keep emergency forces on edge and the death toll nears 20.

"Nysa has been saved from the worst," the head of the regional administration, Monika Jurek, was quoted as saying by Poland's PAP news agency.

Located about 90 kilometres south of Wrocław, Nysa was at risk as water levels in the Nysa Kłodzka river continued to rise amid the persistent rainfall that battered the region since the weekend.

The water level has since started to recede, Jurek said.

Throughout the night, local residents joined forces with the army and fire brigade to fortify the weakened dyke with sandbags.

"There were about 2,000 people on the dyke: women, men, children and senior citizens," Mayor Kordian Kolbiarz told radio station Rmf.fm.

People had formed a human chain to transport the sandbags, he said. In the end, these efforts helped to secure the dam.

Poland is one of several Central and Eastern European countries grappling with historic flooding since last weekend.

At least 19 deaths have now been confirmed across Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania due to the floods triggered by sometimes unprecedented levels of rainfall.

On Tuesday, thousands of emergency forces were still deployed across the region, with no end in sight in many areas.

Floods could reach Wrocław by Thursday

Entire swathes of land in south-western Poland remained inundated on Tuesday and the Polish government has declared a state of natural disaster in affected areas to streamline authority and enforcement of emergency measures.

According to the latest forecasts, the floodwaters of the Oder river could reach the major city of Wrocław on Thursday or Friday.

During the flooding of 1997, one-third of Wrocław was inundated.

A crisis management meeting convened with Prime Minister Donald Tusk in the city to address the escalating situation.

At least four people have died from the floods in Poland so far.

No let-up in Czech Republic, Slovakia

Across the border, the situation also remained tense in the flood-stricken areas of the Czech Republic, with numerous gauging stations still at the highest flood alert level, posing a danger to people and property.

Three people are known to have died in the Czech Republic so far.

In the northern Bohemian city of Ústí nad Labem, near the border with Germany, the Elbe river's crest is not expected until Tuesday evening.

In South Bohemia region, the historic Rožmberk fish pond is at risk of overflowing. If the large body of water rises too high, it would dramatically escalate the situation for communities along the Lužnice river.

The government in Prague gave the green light on Monday evening for the deployment of up to 2,000 soldiers in the disaster areas in the east of the country. At least three people have died due to the flooding.

In neighbouring Slovakia, people are anxiously watching the Danube.

The crest of the river reached the capital, Bratislava, early on Tuesday. A peak of around 9.7 metres above the local zero gauge point was recorded. Normally, it remains around 2 metres.

The waterfront areas were submerged but flood protection walls shielded the historic Old Town. Zoo animals were taken to safety.

In the outer district of Devínska Nová Ves, people had to leave their homes due to the high water. Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba estimated the damage in Slovakia to be at least €20 million ($22.2 million).

Death toll rises in Austria

In Austria, emergency services discovered an 81-year-old woman dead in her flooded house on Tuesday, raising the total death toll in the rain-battered country to five.

The woman was found in her house in Würmla, a town in the hard-hit eastern state of Lower Austria, authorities reported.

Four days of persistent rain have submerged vast areas of eastern Austria. The danger of dam breaches remains high despite the rain stopping on Tuesday, according to authorities.

While the number of dead found during the floods stands at five, the cause of death for one of those victims remains unclear.

Flood waters have begun to recede slightly in Austria, but local authorities say that the situation in some parts of the country remain tense.

The full extent of the damage is still not known. In Lower Austria, 271 roads are still closed due to flooding, and 26 communities are cut off by land. Residents of some villages were brought to safety on Monday night.

The authorities say around 33,000 emergency service workers were on duty during the four days of continuous rainfall.

The amount of rain that fell in eastern Austria in just a few days was four to six times the usual amount for the entire month of September.

Some 6,000 homes destroyed in Romania

Clean-up operations are under way in the flooded areas of eastern Romania, where at least seven people died. Around 6,000 homes in mostly remote villages were hit by the flooding, with many completely destroyed. Thousands of people have lost all their belongings.

The fire brigade sent 1,000 additional volunteers from across the country to the region. Hundreds of soldiers are also on the scene. There are also plans to call on the help of prisoners from a high-security prison in Galati.