Meteorologist on Storm Boris: 'We expect more flooding'

At least 16 people have died and several are missing in subsequent flooding that has hit central Europe in recent days. Deaths have been reported in Romania, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic, the BBC reports.

Southwestern Poland is one of the worst-hit areas. In the town of Kłodzko, home to about 25,000 people, streets were filled with rubble and mud after water surged in. Similar scenes are unfolding in many Polish cities.

– It's a very tangible destruction, says Christopher Windeck, SVT's European correspondent.

Poland declared a state of emergency on Monday after several cities fell victim to massive floodwaters and had to be evacuated. Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that those affected could apply for emergency support, equivalent to about 25,000 Swedish crowns, to deal with the consequences.

However, the worst appears to be over in Poland where drier weather awaits as rain moves towards other parts of Europe.

Army helps in Austria

During Tuesday, the storm moves south and heavy rainfall is expected in parts of Austria and Italy.

– In addition, it will take some time for the water to drain, so you can count on floods in Central Europe in the coming days as well, says Diana Bajic, meteorologist at SVT.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (centre) has cancelled a trip to Austria that he was due to take with Migration Minister Johan Forssell (centre), precisely because of the rain.

Austria holds parliamentary elections in less than two weeks, but the storm has caused some campaign events to be postponed. The country's Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote on Channel X that the election campaign was “on pause” and that all attention should now be directed to crisis management.

He also announced that the army would be deployed to help in the affected areas.

Annual Rainfall – Within a Few Days

Many experts and meteorologists have described the rainfall amounts as record-breaking. At the Serac weather station in eastern Czech Republic, 464 mm of rain was measured in recent days.

By comparison, the normal annual rainfall in Stockholm is 500 mm.

“So it's no surprise that we were able to see such catastrophic images,” says Diana Bajic.

Climate change also means that similar events may become something we need to get used to in the future.

“When the weather gets warmer, it also holds more water and it will rain more,” Bajek says.