A sudden winter thaw has destabilized rivers in Poland and snow conditions in the mountains. In the Slovak High Tatras, two experienced Polish ski mountaineers were killed under a sudden avalanche. Simultaneously, massive snowmelt across the country has caused numerous road inundations, including the S6 expressway, forcing the government to declare flood alerts and convene a meeting at the Government Security Centre.

Avalanche Victims in Slovakia

Two excellently equipped Poles lost their lives under a snowslide in the Slovak High Tatras. Conditions were described as exceptionally deadly.

Extraordinary MSW Headquarters Meeting

The scale of swells caused by thaws forced the government and the Government Security Centre to operationally command the fight against infrastructure and agricultural river inundations.

Partial Route Unblocking

The highly strategic Polish S6 motorway around the Sławno exits was saved from absolute water, rescuing transport heading north.

Attack on Grain Crops

Widespread mycological rot unfortunately covered greenery after the rapid thaw. Damaged seedlings will cause a dramatic financial shortfall.

Due to a sudden thaw, Poland is grappling with serious inundations, while extreme conditions prevail in the mountains. A large avalanche descended in the Slovak High Tatras, under which two experienced Polish ski mountaineers were killed. Although the men had appropriate equipment, the third degree of avalanche danger proved to be a mortal danger for them. Mountain rescuers have recovered the bodies and informed about the identities of the deceased, while dramatically appealing to tourists to abandon trips. Weather conditions are causing huge masses of wet snow to cascade down in summit areas, proving directly that "the third level doesn't forgive mistakes".

Development of the flood and avalanche situation: 23 February — S6 Route Blocked; 25 February, 16:07 — Meeting at the RCB Headquarters; 26 February — Data on Mountain Victims

Rapidly rising temperatures have drastically swollen rivers across Poland. At the Wrocław headquarters, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration held an urgent briefing in cooperation with the Government Security Centre and individual provincial governors. Melting snowwaters have exceeded alarm levels on the ground, forcing services to reinforce levees and put firefighters on highest alert. In Lower Silesia, in the Bierutów area, an active flood prevention unit is still working. Hundreds of defense sections are pumping water from lower areas of residential properties. Rivers have effectively blocked interregional routes, including the mercilessly splashed national axis. Technical rescuers have indeed cleared the isolated section of the S6 expressway between the Karwice and Sławno Zachód junctions only towards Szczecin, but the flooded shoulders are delaying the return of crucial national logistics.

3. stopień — elevated flood and avalanche danger level

The sudden accumulation of water resources linked to shaded melting of winter snowpacks cyclically terrifies the administration in the Oder river basin, which has been prone to flooding for centuries. Despite the expansion of artificial levee reinforcements and evolutionary changes in modern construction engineering, February floods systematically paralyze fast-moving roads with the relentless barriers of hydrological nature.

The difficult and flood-delaying situation measurably devastates productivity indicators in the Polish agricultural sector. The persistently standing pond of floodwaters clogs lower sections of winter sowings, preventing tractors from spreading rich fertilizer supporting stem growth on the threshold of spring. Equally problematic, farmers are mass-reporting the rapid progression of aggressive infections emerging from the glued zones of the residual wet dust layer. An uncontrolled epidemic of destructive snow mold will sharply reduce autumn revenues for rural farmers, increasing agricultural deficits and condemning thousands of growers to government subsidy rescue in the near future.

„Trasa na Gdańsk pozostaje nieprzejezdna. Tam działania strażaków przy wypompowywaniu wody roztopowej potrwają do czwartku.” (The route to Gdańsk remains impassable. Firefighters' actions to pump out meltwater there will last until Thursday.) — Dariusz Schacht

Mentioned People

  • Dariusz Schacht — Spokesperson for the West Pomeranian State Fire Service responsible for clearing the flooded expressway.