POWÓDŹ 2024 - Rzeczowa dyskusja ? - Pytań coraz więcej

We return to Pilchowice, Zagórze, and Stronie Śląskie to clarify some flood-related issues and our perspective on several issues in response to a particularly interesting and substantive comment by user Water_MusicPL. The September 2024 flood in Lower Silesia was one of the largest natural disasters in modern Polish history, triggered by extreme rainfall brought by the Genoese low pressure, Boris. In some mountainous regions, up to 500 mm of water fell per square meter, leading to the rapid overflow of rivers such as the Nysa Kłodzka and Bóbr. The disaster struck the Kłodzko Valley with great force, devastating towns such as Kłodzko, Lądek-Zdrój, Bystrzyca Kłodzka, and Stronie Śląskie, where the catastrophic consequences were exacerbated by the rupture of an earthen dam on the Morawka River. The floods devastated historic city centers, tore down bridges, and flooded homes to heights of several meters, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate immediately, often from rooftops using rescue helicopters. The effects of the disaster were devastating – in Lower Silesia alone, material losses were estimated at at least 5 billion złoty, and the disaster directly affected over 162,000 residents of the region. Over 5,000 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed, as well as hundreds of kilometers of road, rail, and water and sewage infrastructure.