The 2005 European floods hit mainly Romania, Switzerland, Austria and Germany, as well as several other countries in Central Europe and Eastern Europe during August 2005. The disaster came at a time when Portugal was suffering from intense forest fires which left 15 dead and days before the powerful Hurricane Katrina hit the United States.
The death toll was 62, with 31 dead in Romania, 20 in Bulgaria, 6 in Switzerland, and 5 in Austria and Germany. Thousands were evacuated from their homes; the rains were the worst flooding to hit Europe since the 2002 floods.
Romania was the most affected by the 2005 floods, as it was faced with the most powerful and widespread floods and also the highest loss of life, with 31 dead. Total damages are estimated to be valued at more than 5 billion lei (€1.5 billion).
In mid August, the North-East region of Romania was heavily affected, with 1,473 evacuated from their homes in Iași, Suceava and Botoșani starting from August 16. In Suceava county, 555 km of roads were affected, while nearly 600 bridges were flooded, resulting in the flooding of 520 houses, 16 of which were significantly destroyed. Several communications networks, particularly electric cables and optical fibres, were also affected.
Before it had ended, on August 22, 2005, the Ministry of Interior was reported as saying that floods and landslides affected over 500 villages in 31 districts: 200 homes completely destroyed, 2,000+ other structures affected, 11,000 households flooded, 9,000 wells flooded with rainfall and groundwater displacement, 34,000+ hectares of farmland and 2,000+ hectares of forests and grasslands destroyed, 9 kilometers of highway, 265 kilometers of county roads and 906 other roads were all severely damaged, and 25 cities lost power. [1]
Floods were particularly acute in the central county of Harghita, where flooding hit the town of Odorheiu Secuiesc and surrounding localities in mid-to-late August. The flooding was most intense in the period from 24 to 25 August, when ten people were killed, a further five were declared missing and 1,400 households were flooded. Other counties significantly affected in late August were Mureș, Prahova and Bistrița-Năsăud. The city of Târgu Mureș, an important regional centre, was also affected by the rising of waters on the Târnava River, even though there wasn't a significant amount of damage caused to infrastructure. [2] [3]
In northwestern Romania, the counties of Bihor and Cluj were also affected, although on a smaller scale than Harghita. In Cluj County, over 100 houses were flooded, with the flooding centred on the town of Turda. Railway lines in the county were also closed. The localities of Popeşti, Suplacu de Barcău and Valea lui Mihai were affected in Bihor County.
The Swiss capital of Bern was also heavily hit after the Aar burst its banks, and the town of Brienz saw 400 residents evacuated. The village of Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Alps was completely cut off. The only exit from the town is by a very narrow gorge just wide enough to take the river, road and railway, and the river expanded to fill the entire gorge. This stranded thousands of tourists in the village, and the only way out was by helicopter or by crossing one of the high Alpine passes.
The Tyrol and Vorarlberg states of Austria saw many areas cut off by flooded roads. The lower part of the Rhine overflowed, affecting the Swiss Graubünden Canton, as well as parts of Vorarlberg. The river Danube and its tributaries overflowed in many places, flooding parts of Germany, Bavaria in particular. Several floodings and landslides were reported in Lower Austria and Styria.
The floods also meant the temporary closure of many mountain passes, amongst them the Gotthard in Switzerland, and the Arlberg in Austria. On a section of the Arlberg, the road and rail were washed away. Austrian Federal Railways have issued a statement (in German) that the rail line reconstruction will take at least a month. The main phone and data line between Vorarlberg and the rest of Austria was destroyed and had to be replaced by a radio communication. With rain and flood waters subsiding on August 27, people started to return to their homes, rail and road routes reopened and the cleanup began.
The town of Jaša Tomić in Serbia was devastated by floods. Poland, where seven bridges collapsed, and Slovenia were also affected by flooding in August.
Bulgaria and Moldova were also affected, though to a lesser extent. In Bulgaria, three months of rain and flooding killed 20 people and left 14,000 homeless. The country was hit by further floods in August (normally a very dry month), though these did not cause such widespread damage, but caused damage to the year's crops, causing an increase in the price of fruit and vegetables. Moldova was also hit by torrential rains in August.
Vorarlberg is the westernmost state of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest population density. It borders three countries: Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol, to the east.
Suceava County is a county of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper.
Sankt Anton am Arlberg, commonly referred to as St Anton, is a village and ski resort in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies in the Tyrolean Alps, with aerial tramways and chairlifts up to 2,811 m (9,222 ft), yielding a vertical drop of 1,507 m (4,944 ft). It is also a popular summer resort among hikers, trekkers and mountaineers.
Landeck is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the capital of the district of Landeck.
Zürs is one of the most renowned winter sports resorts in the Alps. Located in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, almost directly on the border to North Tyrol, near the Flexenpass, Zürs is part of the Arlberg region, which also includes Lech, Oberlech, Zug, and Stubenbach. This region offers 87 ski-lifts, 200 kilometers of deep snow slopes and 305 km of ski runs. It has several hotels and pensions, with a total of over 1,700 beds. It is popular for its downhill skiing, but also for its backcountry skiing and its Olympic skiing champions. About four kilometers north of Zürs is Lech am Arlberg, another ski resort which is linked to Zürs not only via road, but also via ski lifts and pistes.
Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide, and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the south. The peaks and mountain passes are lower than the Western Alps, while the range itself is broader and less arched.
From February to April 2006 many rivers across Europe, especially the Elbe and Danube, swelled due to heavy rain and melting snow and rose to record levels. These are the longest rivers in Central Europe.
The Arlberg Railway, which connects the Austrian cities Innsbruck and Bludenz, is Austria's only east-west mountain railway. It is one of the highest standard gauge railways in Europe and the second highest in Austria, after the Brenner. The 136.7 km line is a highly problematic mountain railway, in part because it is threatened by avalanches, mudslides, rockfalls and floods. It is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and frequented by international trains, including the Orient Express.
Cyclone Emma was an extratropical cyclone that passed through several mainly Central European countries, on Saturday March 1, 2008, killing at least twelve people in Austria, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Wind speeds reached up to 155–180 km/h (96–112 mph) in Austria and the Czech Republic. Major infrastructure disruptions and some injuries were also reported in Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
The 2009 European floods were a series of natural disasters that took place in June 2009 in Central Europe. Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Turkey were all affected. The heavy rains caused overflowing of the rivers Oder, Vistula, Elbe and Danube. At least 12 people were killed in the Czech Republic and one in Poland.
In the NUTS codes of Romania (RO), the three levels are:
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The 2010 Romanian floods were the result of an extreme weather event that struck Romania in late June 2010. Currently, at least 21 people died. The north-east of the country, especially Suceava County was most affected. Also affected was the Chernivtsi Oblast in neighbouring Ukraine.
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The 2012 Romanian floods were the result of an extreme weather event that struck Romania in late May 2012. Authorities reported four deaths throughout Romania. The south-east of the country, especially Vrancea County was most affected. Also affected were the provinces of Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad and Sofia in neighbouring Bulgaria.
The Vorarlberg Railway denotes a through line running through the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Its route is similar to the Rheintal/Walgau Autobahn from the border between Lindau and Hörbranz to Bludenz, where it connects to the Arlberg Railway. The entire route in Austria is owned and is operated up to Lindau-Insel by the Austrian Federal Railways.
Extreme flooding in Central Europe began after several days of heavy rain in late May and early June 2013. Flooding and damages primarily affected south and east German states, western regions of the Czech Republic (Bohemia), and Austria. In addition, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary were affected to a lesser extent. The flood crest progressed down the Elbe and Danube drainage basins and tributaries, leading to high water and flooding along their banks.
In July 2021, several European countries were affected by severe floods. Some were catastrophic, causing deaths and widespread damage. The floods started in the United Kingdom as flash floods causing some property damage and inconvenience. Later floods affected several river basins across Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. At least 243 people died in the floods, including 196 in Germany, 43 in Belgium, two in Romania, one in Italy and one in Austria.
2021 saw some of the most extreme flooding on record, in large part driven by climate change. The insurance industry analysis group Swiss RE found that 31% of global insurance losses were from flooding, and that nearly a fifth of the economic damage from natural disasters was uninsured.
