Heavy Rainfall in Wroclaw, Flood Risk Low
While torrential rain has plagued nearly all of southern Poland in the two weeks, the city of Wroclaw has so far managed to avoid any serious risk of flooding. The worst-hit area in Poland has been Krakow and its surrounding towns and villages where the water level has reached its highest point in 40 years at over four and a half metres over the emergency level. Dramatic photographs have emerged of the Vistula river rising to nearly equal level with roads and bridges. Thousands have been left without electricity in the Krakow area, hundreds have been forced to evacuate, and five have died. However, the latest news has reported that water levels have slowly begun to recede in the area.
As for south-western Poland, and Wroclaw in particular, the rain has been equally relentless. However, the central part of the city is not currently under any risk from flooding from the Odra, the river which cuts through the city centre. Unfortunately several towns and villages from the surrounding area have been forced to evacuate - and the bad news is that unlike in Krakow, the water levels are still rising. Rainfall has been forecast to last until Friday 21 May.
Wroclaw has had a particularly bad history with floods in recent years - particularly in 1997 when the Oder river flooded to such an extent that it covered roughly a third of the entire city's area.