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ROME. – About 1 000 people were yeterday evacuated in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna after devastating floods brought by Storm Boris wreaked havoc across Central and Eastern Europe.

The development came before yesterday’s meeting between the leaders of four flood-hit European Union (EU) countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the southwestern Polish city of Wroclaw.

Storm Boris caused the worst flooding in more than 20 years from Romania to Poland over the past week, killing at least 24 people before moving west.

In the town of Lugo, near Ravenna, authorities ordered the evacuation of all ground-floor residences, after the local Senio river broke its banks.

“We are in a full emergency,” the mayor of Ravenna, Mr Michele De Pascale, told media.

Irene Priolo, the acting president of Emilia-Romagna, told media that 250mm of water had fallen in some areas and three rivers had overflowed.

The national fire department said it carried out more than 500 rescue operations in Emilia-Romagna, including with helicopters.

Austrian Chancellor Mr Karl Nehammer said the EU “must use and expand the instruments that have been created for disasters like this. I will call in Poland for the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.”

The Czech Republic has already requested the activation of the mechanism to receive aid.

Grassroots funding initiatives have been organised across the country as local authorities begin to assess damage.

The Polish government said it has unblocked US$523 million of direct aid to people and localities affected by the floods.

Experts say human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as torrential rains and floods. – Aljazeera.com