Red Cross: 'This is a window into the future'

Over the past 24 hours, the storm has forced 1,000 people to evacuate from northern Italy. On Wednesday, authorities decided to close schools in the affected area and a large part of the train service has been cancelled.

Deaths have been reported in Romania, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland due to heavy winds and rain last week.

“A trend we'll see more of”

The floods have been described as historic. But the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warns that similar weather events in the future will be described as “annual”.

Andreas von Weissenberg is the European Director for Health, Disasters and Crises at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The organization has been active in many countries since Storm Boris hit.

– It was very dramatic but at the same time it is not new. Unfortunately, we see this as a trend that we will see more of, he tells SVT Nyheter.

Helps with mental health assistance for victims

He believes that climate policy, both locally and globally, needs to be restructured to focus on adaptation rather than action.

Climate finance still seeks to mitigate the effects of climate change, but it is a battle largely lost, he says and continues:

– It still matters, but we know it will take decades before we can turn this around.

An important area for the IFRC is providing psychological assistance to affected people. This is work that is not prioritized by the authorities who are focused on rescue work, according to Weissenberg.

“I don't know if they can go home.”

Several thousand people have already been forced to leave their homes. According to Weissenberg, there are communities in Poland where 80 to 90 percent of them are underwater.

“Many people were evacuated so quickly that they don’t know what their houses or apartments look like, and don’t even know if they can return,” says Andreas von Weissenberg.

– The only thing they know is that everything has changed. The uncertainty is enormous, and should not be underestimated.