'Far from over': At least 15 killed in Europe torrential rain and flooding

At least 15 people have died from severe flooding in central and eastern Europe, as days of torrential rain caused rivers to burst banks across Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Germany and neighbouring countries.

A low-pressure system dubbed Storm Boris has unleashed heavy downpours from Austria to Romania, turning streets into rivers and destroying homes.

Thousands of people have also been forced to flee their homes as the storm ravages the region, bringing some of the worst floods seen in nearly 30 years.

In Poland and the Czech Republic, officials reported floodwaters reaching record heights, with emergency services scrambling to respond.

In southwestern Poland, one person drowned on Sunday as floodwaters submerged parts of Klodzko County.

In Austria, a firefighter was killed while taking part in rescue operations, and in Romania, authorities confirmed the deaths of two more people following four fatalities the previous day.

Authorities in Lower Austria declared the region a disaster zone after rivers in the area reached critical levels.

While rivers in the Czech-Polish border area were starting to recede on Monday, flooding was widening to more parts and leaving bigger cities in both countries on alert.

In the Czech Republic, a rising Morava River overnight put Litovel, a city 230 km east of the capital Prague with a population of nearly 10,000, around 70 percent under water and shut down schools and health facilities, its mayor said in a video on Facebook.

Flooded parts of northeastern Czech regional capital Ostrava forced closures of a power plant supplying heat and hot water to the city as well as two chemical plants.

More than 12,000 people have been evacuated from the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Sunday evening on X as he called an extraordinary government session for Monday.

Czech Television reported the first confirmed victim on Monday, adding to casualties across the region.

Bridges collapse, towns submerged

As rescue efforts continue, the flooding has caused widespread damage to infrastructure. In the historic Polish town of Glucholazy, a bridge collapsed near the Czech border on Sunday morning.

Local media also reported the collapse of another bridge in Stronie Slaskie, where a dam burst, further endangering nearby communities.

In Austria, authorities have warned of continued danger as heavy rains are forecast to persist on Monday.

In the Czech Republic, 80 percent of the town of Krnov is now submerged under water, with officials bracing for more rain in the coming days. In Romania, while rainfall began to ease on Sunday, damage assessments are only beginning.

Over 5,000 homes have been damaged in the southeastern region of Galati, which bore the brunt of the deluge. Emergency services continue to work around the clock, rescuing people trapped in their homes and surveying the extent of the destruction.

A region on alert

The scale of the flooding has prompted several countries to declare states of emergency. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the situation remains "dramatic" in many areas, with rivers threatening to overwhelm dams and flood defences.

Tusk also announced that Poland would seek aid from the European Union to help deal with the disaster. Czech President Petr Pavel echoed similar concerns, warning that the flooding was "far from over."

The Czech government has already evacuated more than 10,500 people, with fears growing that the country’s poorest regions could suffer the greatest damage in the days ahead.

As the region braces for more potential rainfall, the full scale of the catastrophe remains unknown, but the impact on communities across Central Europe is expected to be severe.

Rescue teams, government officials, and residents alike are hoping that the worst has passed, but with waters still rising in some areas, the threat remains.

While meteorologists expect the rains to gradually ease as Storm Boris moves south toward the Mediterranean, the flooding could persist in already waterlogged areas.

Rivers have already reached record levels in parts of Poland and the Czech Republic, with emergency services closely monitoring vulnerable communities.

For now, the focus remains on saving lives, restoring power, and cleaning up the devastation left in Storm Boris’s wake.