Warsaw, 15 September 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The first death in Poland due to the flooding wreaking havoc across parts of Central Europe has been confirmed, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday.

Tusk said the person drowned in the south-western Kłodzko district, not far from the border with the Czech Republic.

The prime minister, who noted the fatality while in Kłodzko to attend an emergency briefing, did not provide further details.

Tusk repeated his appeal to residents to take the authorities' evacuation calls seriously and to get to safety in time.

"The situation is dramatic in many places," he said.

The small town of Kłodzko, with 26,000 inhabitants, is located 100 kilometres south of Wrocław on the Nysa Kłodzka, a tributary of the Oder river.

The flooding worsened overnight. On Sunday morning, the water level of the Nysa Kłodzka was 6.65 metres. The average water level is 1 metre, a spokesman for the local fire brigade told dpa.

Tusk said that 1,600 people in the Kłodzko district had been brought to safety so far and that he expected further evacuations.

Parts of the hardest-hit areas have seen disruptions to power supplies and mobile communication networks. Kłodzko residents have been told to boil their tap water before drinking it.

Evacuations in the Opole region

To the east of Kłodzko, sirens wailed in the small town of Głuchołazy in the Opole region on Sunday morning as authorities there imposed an mandatory evacuation after the Biała Głuchołaska river burst its banks.

The Polish metrological service released images showing large parts of Głuchołazy under water. Local media reported that provisional protective barriers and a bridge had been submerged.

"We are getting everyone to safety, whether they want to or not," said Mayor Paweł Szymkowicz to broadcaster TVN24.

Photo: epa