Emergency crews busy as rain, hailstorms hit Poland

Firefighters were called out more than 1,100 times as heavy rain and hailstorms lashed parts of Poland overnight into Tuesday, officials said.

Firefighters deal with the aftermath of a storm near the southern city of Gliwice on Tuesday.

Photo: PAP/State Fire Service (PSP)

A number of emergencies were reported after strong winds wreaked havoc in the country's southern Śląskie, Dolnośląskie and Małopolskie provinces as well as the central region of Mazowieckie, Wojciech Gralec, a spokesman for the State Fire Service, said on Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were called to pump water out of flooded buildings, secure damaged roofs and remove fallen trees from roads, public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.

The aftermath of a storm near the southern city of Gliwice. Photo: PAP/State Fire Service (PSP)

Commenting on flooding in southern Poland, Interior and Administration Minister Marcin Kierwiński said no country has a system capable of eliminating all the potential effects of severe storms, tornadoes or flash floods.

"There is no country that has a system capable of eliminating all the potential effects of a violent storm, twister or flash flood," Kierwiński told broadcaster TVN24.

Heavy rainfall on Monday caused the Potok Bodzanowski stream to overflow in the villages of Rudawa and Bodzanów, near the town of Głuchołazy in southwestern Poland's Opolskie province.

According to an on-site assessment by Poland's state water authority, runoff from surrounding agricultural land contributed to the rapid increase in the stream's flow, public broadcaster TVP Info reported.

The flooding affected local roads, public areas and residential properties.

Kierwiński said Głuchołazy had received substantial funding for reconstruction and flood protection following devastating floods in 2024.

"Głuchołazy is better prepared for this kind of problem. Is it 100-percent safe? No, because there is no place today that is 100-percent safe," he said.

He added that Głuchołazy is close to the Czech border and that large amounts of water can flow down from the mountains on the Czech side.

"We are not 100-percent protected, but we are better protected than we were two or three years ago," Kierwiński said. "The experience of recent years shows that in every situation of this kind, we have to be prepared for extreme weather events."

He said severe thunderstorms can rapidly overwhelm local areas.

"Yes, emergency services are ready, but there are places where flooding occurs because of the sheer scale of the event," Kierwiński said.

The Government Centre for Security (RCB) sent millions of text messages on Monday warning people in several provinces of heavy rain and possible storms that could cause local flooding and power outages.

Officials advised people to avoid open spaces and never shelter under a tree during a storm.

There were no reports of injuries in the aftermath of the severe weather.

(gs)

Source: IAR/PAP, TVP Info/TVN24