Central Europe braces for heavy rains and flooding forecast over the weekend

Associated Press

PRAGUE (AP) — The nations of Central Europe are bracing for severe flooding forecast to hit the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary over the weekend. Czech authorities were erecting metal barriers or protective walls from sandbags, while water was released from dams to make space in reservoirs. Residents have been warned to get ready for possible evacuations. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the country needed to prepare for “a tough weekend is ahead of us.” Meteorologists say a low pressure system travelling from northern Italy was predicted to dump high levels of rainfalls in most parts of the Czech Republic, or Czechia, including the capital and border regions with Austria and Germany in the south and Poland in the north.