Thunderstorms flood streets and force evacuations across Poland as red warnings issued
Torrential rain and strong winds battered southern and western Poland on 14 July, triggering the highest-level warnings, evacuating 123 factory workers in Jelenia Góra and swamping streets in Przemyśl.
Widespread thunderstorms and torrential rain
A slow-moving band of thunderstorms crossed Poland on the morning of 14 July, producing intense rainfall, hail and wind gusts that prompted the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) to issue third-degree, red alerts for several locations. Forecasts called for 35–55 mm of rain and gusts of 70–80 km/h in the hardest-hit areas, with hail also possible. By midday the State Fire Service had logged 220 interventions across Lower Silesia alone, most involving fallen trees and flooded properties.
Jelenia Góra: flooding, factory damage and mass evacuation
The city of Jelenia Góra (Lower Silesia) was among the worst affected. Floodwater made many streets impassable and stranded numerous vehicles. Senior captain Krzysztof Zakrzewski of the Jelenia Góra fire brigade urged drivers to stay clear.
If you are driving down a street and see that it is partially flooded, stop, do not drive in. In this way you make our work harder and directly endanger yourselves. We already have examples today from the city where cars got stuck.
Wind strength was such that the roof and wall structure of a factory warehouse on Konstytucji 3 Maja street was badly damaged. Firefighters evacuated 123 people from the building; no one was injured, Zakrzewski confirmed. Meanwhile, in the village of Wojanów (Karkonosze county) the gale tore roofs off two residential buildings. Precautionary evacuations of scout camps in Wałbrzych, Bolesławiec, Kamienna Góra and Karkonosze counties were also ordered.
Przemyśl cloudburst swamps streets
A cloudburst above Przemyśl (Podkarpackie province) turned multiple streets into waterways within a short period. Local firefighters responded to dozens of calls, and many properties were flooded. IMGW had placed the entire province under a second-degree storm warning from 12:54 to 23:00 on 14 July, with similarly high rainfall totals and wind speeds predicted.
Warnings cover half the country
Government Security Centre (RCB) alerts were dispatched to residents of Dolnośląskie, Śląskie, Małopolskie, Opolskie and parts of Wielkopolskie, Lubuskie, Świętokrzyskie and Łódzkie provinces. The text warned: "Caution! Today (14.07) thunderstorms, strong winds and intense rainfall. Possible flooding and power outages. Avoid open spaces." In addition, IMGW issued first- and second-degree warnings for half of Poland, with the highest, third-degree alerts in select locations.
Mountain danger and rescue advice
In the Tatra Mountains, rescuers of the TOPR service advised anyone still on trails to descend to valleys immediately. Duty rescuer Marcin Witek stressed that reduced visibility would delay any potential rescue operation.
Let us remember that because of poor visibility, we will have to wait longer for help.
Heavy rain had already struck Półrzeczki in Małopolska province early in the morning, and forecasters expected dangerous weather to spread to additional parts of the country through the afternoon.
