• 2 months ago
With water levels in some places already higher than they were during the flood of 1997, Olawa and Wroclaw in southwestern Poland are bracing for the expected flood peak.
Transcript
00:00This is the town of Owawa in south-western Poland.
00:04It is located between the river of the same name and the river Oder, of which it is a tributary.
00:10While floodwaters are receding elsewhere in central Europe,
00:14this region still faces the threat of rising water levels.
00:18The Owawa river has risen to over 7 meters in the past two days.
00:23Hundreds of volunteers have come out to stack sandbags to create a protective barrier.
00:28The people are tired, but absolutely determined to carry on.
00:58We don't know. All we know is that we have some great people
01:02who sit and carry bags from morning to night.
01:09In the village of Stanowice, the Owawa river has swollen so much
01:13that there is a risk the embankments will not hold.
01:16Over 200 volunteers and tens of firefighters are stacking sandbags
01:20in an attempt to hold back the river.
01:23Although the water levels seemed to have dropped slightly on Wednesday evening,
01:27the fire department has said that water levels here are higher now
01:30than they were during the great flood of 1997.
01:34This year, the Owawa river has really risen quite a lot.
01:38The forecast did not indicate this, but unfortunately the flood is very dynamic
01:43and the situation here changes from hour to hour,
01:46so we also have to observe what is happening
01:49and apply prevention measures in the form of securing these flood protection devices.
02:03Two years later, the Marszowice district in the north-west of the city was flooded.
02:08Volunteers and the military have been reinforcing the barriers with sandbags.
02:12Agnieszka Wojciak lives in a building located in a flood zone.
02:16I live on the first floor, so I am a bit afraid that the water will reach a certain level.
02:23We have been working here for two days to save the water.
02:27The riverbed is already flooded, although we also have riverbeds here.
02:30It is difficult. Now we are waiting, observing, raising the wall so that the housing estate does not flood.
02:37The Polish authorities have said that about 16,000 soldiers have been deployed
02:42to the country's flood-hit regions,
02:44with the armed forces using helicopters to evacuate people and strengthen flood defences.

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