Storm Boris toll rises to 24 dead in Europe

The toll from storms in central and eastern Europe rose to at least 24 people on Wednesday, as the Czech Republic reported its fourth and fifth victims.

Since last week Storm Boris has brought widespread flooding and torrential rain, with victims also in Austria, Poland and Romania.
Czech police spokesman Jakub Vincalek told AFP on Wednesday that eight people were still missing after the deluge.

The fourth Czech victim, a woman from the northeastern village of Kobyla nad Vidnavkou, had been missing since Sunday morning.

“Unfortunately the 70-year-old woman was found dead,” regional police spokesman Libor Hejtman told AFP.

The CTK news agency said the woman was found caught in a fence near her house, which had been destroyed by the Vidnavka river.

Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan then announced a fifth Czech victim during a TV debate, without offering any details.

The heavy rain pounded the Czech Republic on Friday and Saturday and raised river levels mainly in the north and northeast of the EU member country of 10.9 million people.

The flooding — which tore down houses, disrupted road and railway traffic and caused power outages — has since receded, revealing extensive damage. (BSS/AFP)