In the past 24 hours, the storm has forced 1,000 people to evacuate from northern Italy. On Wednesday, authorities decided to close schools in the affected area and a large part of the train service has been cancelled.
Deaths have been reported in Romania, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland in the last week’s wind and downpour.
The floods have been described as historic. But the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warns that similar weather phenomena in the future will be described as “annual”.
Andreas von Weissenberg is the IFRC’s European Director for Health, Disasters and Crises. The organization has been active in several countries since storm Boris advanced.
– It has been very dramatic but at the same time not new. Unfortunately, we see that this is a trend that we will see more of, he tells SVT Nyheter.
Assists with mental help for victims
He believes that climate policy, both locally and globally, needs to be restructured to focus on adaptation rather than action.
– Climate finance still goes to trying to reduce the effects of climate change, but it is a battle we have largely lost, he says and continues:
– It is still important, but we know that it will take decades before we can hopefully turn that trend around.
An important area for the IFRC is to provide mental assistance to the people who are affected. A work that is not prioritized by authorities that focus on rescue work, according to Weissenberg.
“Don’t know if they can return to their homes”
Several thousand people have so far been forced to leave their homes. According to Weissenberg, there are communities in Poland where 80 to 90 percent are under water.
– Many have been evacuated very quickly and do not know what their houses or apartments look like, they do not even know if they can return, says Andreas von Weissenberg.
– The only thing they know is that everything has potentially changed. The uncertainty is huge, and it really shouldn’t be underestimated.