Krakow, Poland, Sep 17 (EFE).- The mayor of the southern Polish city of Nysa, Kordian Kolbiarz, ordered Tuesday the evacuation of residents due to the imminent danger of a nearby reservoir overflowing, while the situation in other areas of the country remains critical.
Kolbiarz, who spent Monday night alongside people repairing sandbag dykes, told a local radio station that it was the most important night in the history of the city and said that its survival was at stake.
Earlier on Tuesday, several gaps were detected in the barriers erected by emergency services and local residents to try to contain the water stream. Consequently, military transport helicopters have been requested to provide sand at the most dangerous points.
More than 100 soldiers and dozens of firefighters have been working together with locals transporting sandbags by hand to erect a wall that blocks the 250-meter embankment that connects, in a straight line, the main avenue of the city with the Kosciuszko Bridge over the Nysa Kłodzka river.
The situation is even more dangerous due to the proximity of a reservoir that appears to be on the verge of overflowing.
Nysa is one of the counties where the government declared a state of disaster Monday, which will remain in effect until Oct. 16
Meanwhile, other areas of southwestern Poland continue to face difficulties caused by the rainstorm that has already left four people dead.
The western city of Wroclaw has been preparing for a possible flooding of the Oder River which, according to experts, is expected to reach its highest level on Friday.
Local authorities have alerted people in the suburbs of Wroclaw to be ready for possible evacuation and 600 soldiers are already working on reinforcing dykes for which they have received 1,100 tons of sand. EFE
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