News

On Sunday morning, approximately 260,000 households in the Czech Republic were 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.

Around 40 railway lines in Czechia have been closed due to severe weather, with many of the closures in the Jesenicko region. The main issue is in Studénka, where flooding has halted the major Prague-Ostrava rail corridor, according to Martin Kavka, spokesperson for Railway Administration firefighters. Some lines have been closed as a precaution, while others are affected by flooding or fallen trees. Workers in Jesenicko are inspecting the closed lines to restore service. Kavka advised against unnecessary travel as disruptions continue.

Flooding has disrupted train traffic on the main rail corridor between Olomouc and Ostrava, with operations suspended between Studénka and Jistebník due to anticipated flooding and severe weather. Trains from Prague are terminating in Olomouc, and trains from Poland in Bohumín, according to Czech Railways spokesperson Filip Medelský. Czech Railways is attempting to arrange replacement bus services but urges passengers to postpone their travel if possible. Additional train disruptions have occurred on about 20 routes, including between Bohumín and Dětmarovice. Railway firefighters have responded to numerous incidents, including removing fallen trees and evacuating passengers.

Authorities in several citities and villages in northern Moravia have ordered the evacuation due to rising water levels in local rivers. In the Jeseníky mountains, the river Bělá has cut off several villages, washing away roads and isolating communities. Power outages and a lack of drinking water are complicating evacuation efforts as authorities work to move residents to safety. Floodwaters are rising in other places across the Czech Republic, with over 260 locations under flood alerts as of early Sunday morning. Nearly a third of these are at the highest warning level, with extreme flooding declared in some areas.