Worst Floods Hit Poland in Over a Decade

The death toll from the worst flooding to hit Poland in more than a decade has reached 15. Here’s the latest news from the region.

The death toll from the worst floods to hit Poland in over a decade reached 15 on Monday.

Flood waters are spreading towards the north of the country and have burst through a dike.

Heavy rain has caused damage estimated at more than 2 billion Euros, or $2.5 billion US dollars, over the last week.

Thousands have been evacuated from their homes along the Vistula river, which flows from the southern Tatra mountains into the Baltic sea.

The situation was particularly bad on Monday in the village of Swiniary, 50 miles north-west of Warsaw, where water from the Vistula punched a 165-foot-long hole in a dike.

Emergency services have blown up a river embankment below the hole to help the water return to the river bed.

Flood barriers in many parts of Poland are in very poor condition after days of inundation.

Landslides in southern parts of Poland, which have borne the brunt of the flood damage were particularly dangerous but water levels there are starting to fall.

As the water has started falling rescuers found the bodies of people who had been declared missing.

Poland's interior ministry has assigned 6,000 zlotys, or $1,812 US dollars, for household who suffered most from the floods.

Water levels peaked in the capital Warsaw over the weekend without causing major damage.

Polish television has shown helicopters helping to evacuate stranded residents from the rooftops of their flooded homes, while some people escaped to safety in rowing boats.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said last week that the estimated damage caused by the floods could top 2 billion euros. Warsaw has requested emergency financial help from the European Union.