Central
and
Eastern
European
Flooding

Brief Summary

The worst floods this century hit parts of eastern Germany, southwestern Poland, northeast Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, and northern Slovakia during July 1997. This region of Europe was hit hard with recurring storms that dumped torrential rains periodically during the month of July. Damage and destruction to businesses, agriculture, and economic infrastructure have affected over 1 million people, with estimates of direct and indirect costs over 2.0 billion U.S. dollars and over 100 deaths reported so far. In Germany, most of the damage is along the River Oder. No deaths have been reported but many homes, businesses and farms have been destroyed in this region.

See the links under Additional Resources for more information.

Images

Figure 1 280Kb Click on image for larger view.

Figure 1 is a 4 KM resolution satellite image taken from NOAA-14 AVHRR Visible Channel satellite photo on July 19, 1997 at 11:55 UTC. The photo shows much of Germany, Poland and surrounding countries in the cloud/rain areas. The image also shows imbedded thunderstorms on the southern flank of the major storm drenching the area. This portion of Europe was plagued by recurring storm systems that repeatly dumped heavy rains and caused widespread flooding during July 1997. A 1km high resolution version (2.4 MB) is also available.

Additional Resources

Earthwatch - Euro Floods Week Ending July 25, 1997
Intl. Red Cross/Crescent Appeals and Situation Reports- 1997
Current European Weather Charts (limited number of users at any given time)

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