POLAND: 1ST UPDATE: Damage Estimate $2.5 Billion; At Least 15 Dead; Minor Damage In Warsaw.

NEW LINK: REUTERS/ 24 May/       The Vistula River burst its banks in a non-residential area of Warsaw. At least 15 have died from flooding in Poland since last weekend. In Wroclaw, much of one neighborhood, Kozanow, was covered by water after the Oder River broke its banks in two places. Heavy rain has caused damage estimated at more than 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) over the last week, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes. Water levels peaked in Warsaw without causing major damage, after soldiers, police and emergency services reinforced sandbag defenses along the banks of the Vistula.

POLAND:3RD UPDATE: Flooding In South May Exceed $3 Billion Euros.

REUTERS

                                                                             

  Poland will seek financial aid from EU to cover the costs as “kilometers of levees will have to be repaired or rebuilt,” after PM Donald Tusk reported that flooding costs in the south may exceed $3 billion euros.  At least 9 died as the Vistula River broke levees in Krakow in two places forcing local authorizes to evacuate neighboring houses as heavy rains have swollen the Vistula to its highest level in 160 years. The nearby Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum closed for visitors “until further notice” as employees at the Nazi death camp move archives to protect them. The flooding forced some of the biggest companies to halt production. PM Donald Tusk ruled out declaring a state of natural disaster and avoid delaying presidential elections set for 20 June. The flood “damage is serious, though it is still far below the level of flooding in 1997,”claimed Minister Jerzy Miller. The 1997 flood was the biggest natural disaster ever in Poland, causing 12 billion zloty ($3.6 billion) in damages and killing 55 people.