Torrential Rains Cause Devastating Floods Across Central and Eastern Europe

At least four people have died in Romania after torrential rains caused flooding. Emergency response units are on high alert as river levels surge in central and eastern European countries. Evacuations have been carried out, and flood barriers erected in some regions to mitigate the damage.

At least four people died in eastern Romania after torrential rain caused flooding, the country's emergency response unit said on Saturday. River levels surged across several central and eastern European nations following days of heavy rainfall.

Officials carried out evacuations in towns along the Czech-Polish border as rivers rose past alert levels. Prague, which suffered catastrophic floods in 2002, has put up flood barriers. In Romania, 19 villages in eight counties were affected, and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu headed to hard-hit Galati county, where the four fatalities were confirmed.

Television images depicted streets flooded with muddy water, silt, and debris as rescuers led residents to safety. More than 150 liters per square meter of rainfall had fallen in less than 24 hours, according to the Environment Ministry's water management agency.

In Glucholazy, a historic town in southwestern Poland, firefighters piled up hundreds of sandbags alongside a swollen river, leading to some resident evacuations.

(With inputs from agencies.)