Warsaw - Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Poland and the Czech Republic yesterday as rivers burst their banks, while the eastern German town of Frankfurt an der Oder declared a state of maximum alert as the swollen Oder rose again overnight.
More than 1,600 people were evacuated in south-west Poland, while dozens waited yesterday morning on their roofs to be rescued by military helicopter. Polish authorities, however, said the risk of large scale flooding had receded. Over 100 people have died in the present flooding in central Europe.
In northern Italy 40 people were injured yesterday when a violent whirlwind swept through the beach resort of Bibione, near Venice.