Tuesday, September 17

Dozens of people are dead after heavy rain hit Europe recently, inundating some cities with the heaviest rain in over 100 years.

Storm Boris, a dangerous low-pressure system, arrived this weekend in central Europe, primarily impacting the cities of Vienna, Bratislava, and Prague. The heaviest rain in over 100 years arrived on Sunday, causing rivers to burst their banks. Over 5,400 homes have been damaged in Romania's southeastern region of Galati alone, after highways were turned into raging rivers. Structures were first flooded by water and then torn down by the rushing currents, displacing thousands of people. A dam in Austria suffered a breach and was close to collapsing as well, leading to the evacuation of numerous citizens living downstream.

States of emergencies have been announced for several regions in multiple different countries, and Poland has also announced a state of natural disaster for 30 days across some of the worst-hit areas.

In fact, in the Polish town of Klodzko, there was so much flooding that a local water treatment plant was overwhelmed with the volume of water coming into the facility. Because of this, the entire town of around 25,000 people is being advised to avoid drinking tap water for the next few days, as it could be contaminated.

Boris also dumped heavy snow on some towns in the Alps, and that may cause a problem. inthe coming days. As temperatures heat up in those mountainous regions, the large amount of snow in the area will melt, leading to more flooding.

Residents in the affected countries, like Poland, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, have lost everything in this disaster-- many people lost their homes, businesses, and most of their personal possessions. The Czech Republic was one of the worst-hit, with a total of 10,500 evacuations throughout the extreme weather event. According to CNN, one town by the name of Krnov is over 80% underwater. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported that despite the tough situation, some residents refuse to evacuate, leading to more drownings and rescue operations.

In total, at least 17 people have died so far, primarily from drowning in floodwaters, but the death toll is currently unclear-- it is expected to go up in the coming days due to the fact that many people were carried very long distances by the raging currents. Hundreds of people are still stuck on roofs, cars, and trees after hanging on through the storm, and firefighters and rescue crews are working around the clock to rescue as many people as they can. However, it is a risky job-- one brave firefighter was killed in Austria when he slipped on stairs while attempting to remove floodwaters from a home.

Unfortunately, the rain is not expected to stop anytime soon for some regions. Much of central Europe is still suffering from heavy rain, but the precipitation has eased up in areas farther north, like Poland. Storm Boris is currently moving south towards the Mediterranean, and is expected to deliver more rain to southern Europe and parts of Germany through today and tomorrow. According to Reuters, the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, is expected to rise to almost 28 feet later this week, which is only a foot from the all-time record of 29.2 feet from 2013.

Sadly, these extreme weather events will only continue to increase as climate change worsens, and northern regions like Europe are experiencing the largest changes in weather patterns. While some areas of the world become drier, Europe is only becoming wetter and hotter, fostering the development of stronger, more intense storm systems.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Both G and C were originally represented by the Phoenician symbol for gimel, which meant “camel.” It was the Romans who finally separated the two letters, letting C keep its shape and adding a bar at the bottom for the letter G.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): It’s better to have them hate you than to feel sorry for you.

(Rose Blumkin)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Nebula (noun)- A nebula is a large cloud of interstellar gas or dust. In nontechnical use, the word nebula also refers to a galaxy other than the Milky Way.

In a Sentence: We were eventually able to see the nebula through the telescope.