Floods in Czechia: north Moravian towns see evacuations
Czechia is battling widespread floods as river levels continue to rise, particularly in Moravian regions, which declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
260,000 hoseholds without power
As of Sunday morning, approximately 260,000 households in the Czech Republic are without electricity due to adverse weather conditions. The hardest-hit region is Moravian-Silesia, where 114,000 customers are currently without power. In the Olomouc region, 34,000 homes are affected, while southern Moravia has 30,000 outages, the Hradec Králové region is facing 25,000, and the Liberec region has 16,000 customers without electricity. These figures were provided by spokespersons from energy companies ČEZ and E.ON.
ČEZ Distribuce reports 240 outages on high-voltage lines and hundreds more on low-voltage lines. The primary cause is fallen trees and branches on power lines due to strong winds, which also toppled several utility poles. A significant outage was caused by flooding at a substation in Krnov. In southern Czechia, E.ON has reported 91 high-voltage line outages.
Mass Evacuations in Krnov, Český Těšín, and Opava
Krnov in the Moravian-Silesian region has ordered the evacuation of around 1,000 residents from Dolní Kostelec and 13 other streets. In Český Těšín, the evacuation of the city center and Na Olšinách street was ordered early on Sunday. The Opava River continues to rise, prompting the city of Opava to evacuate residents from the Kateřinky neighborhood on Saturday.
The Bělá River the Jeseníky Mountains has cut off parts of the region, with the floodwaters damaging the main I/44 highway from Jeseník to Česká Ves, Písečná, and Mikulovice. In addition, four people are currently missing: three were swept away in a car by a river in the Jesenicko area, and a man was carried away by the current while clearing debris in the Uherské Hradiště region.
Firefighters Respond to Thousands of Incidents
Firefighters have responded to nearly 6,000 incidents over the last three days, with the situation severely impacting road and rail transportation. Around 40 sections of railway tracks, many of them in the Jesenicko area, are closed due to the flooding. The most significant disruption is at the Studénka station, where the main rail corridor between Prague and Ostrava has been flooded.
As of Saturday evening, thousands of people have been evacuated in the Moravian-Silesian region, but evacuations continued on Sunday morning. In Krnov, large parts of the town are already underwater, including the town center. "It’s still dark, and we won't know the extent of the damage until daylight. Fortunately, there are no reports of injuries or casualties," said city spokesperson Dita Círová. The Opava River, normally one meter high, has risen to nearly five meters, with a third-level flood alert in effect.
Additional Evacuations and Flood Risks Across the Country
Evacuations are also possible on Sunday in Podhradí nad Dyjí (Znojmo region), Rajhradice, and Opatovice (Brno region), as the rain is forecast to continue in the northeast until Monday. Česká Ves in the Olomouc region, with around 2,500 residents, has been cut off after the floodwaters damaged the I/44 highway. The floods have also interrupted rail services between Olomouc and Ostrava, and in Ostrava itself, the D1 motorway remains closed due to flooding in the Svinov area.
In the Olomouc region, residents have been evacuated from Leštiny and Bohuslavice (Šumperk area) due to the rising Morava River. Authorities have advised people to remain indoors. In the central Bohemian town of Mělník, the Labe (Elbe) River reached its third flood alert level overnight, the only river in the region to do so.
Hydrologists Warn of Further Risks
As of Sunday morning, about 260 locations across the country were under flood warnings, with nearly a third of them at the highest level, including areas marked by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute as experiencing extreme flooding. The most concerning areas are rivers draining the Jeseníky Mountains and the Ostrava region. Rising water levels also threaten the upper and central Morava River basins, areas draining the Beskydy and Šumava Mountains, as well as the Pardubice region. In Prague, the Vltava River's water level continues to rise, although no immediate threat to the capital has been reported.
Slowdown in River Swelling
While river levels have been rising since Friday, the rate of new flood alerts has slowed in recent hours. In the Liberec region, rainfall was light overnight, and river levels have mostly returned to normal. However, the overall situation remains serious as the rain persists in many parts of the country.
