Attachments
Description of the Event
Date of event 16-09-2024
What happened, where and when?
Since 13 September 2024, heavy rains brought by Storm Boris have caused severe flooding in southwestern Poland, particularly affecting the voivodeships of Dolnoslaskie, Opolskie, Slaskie, and Malopolskie. Rivers like the Morawka have overflowed, and some dams have collapsed, leading to widespread flooding.
On 16 September, the Council of Ministers declared a "state of natural disaster" for a period of 30 days in parts of the Lower Silesian, Opole, and Silesian voivodeships. Specifically, the areas covered by this declaration include:
- In the Lower Silesian Voivodeship – the districts of Kamienna Góra, Karkonoski, Kłodzko, Lwówecki, Wałbrzyski and Ząbkowice and cities with the rights of the district of Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra.
- In the Opolskie Voivodeship – the districts of Głubczyce, Nysa and Prudnik and the commune of Strzeleczki in the district of Krapkowice.
- In the Silesian Voivodeship – the districts of Bielsko-Biała, Cieszyn, Pszczyna and Racibórz and the city with the rights of the Bielsko-Biała district.
The region experienced an extraordinary 400-500 mm of rainfall in just a few days, with Storm Boris delivering a month's worth of precipitation in 24 hours. This overwhelmed local rivers and reservoirs, leading to extensive flooding.
Since the onset of the crisis, the Polish Red Cross (PRC) has been actively involved, deploying teams and resources to the affected areas.