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Friday, July 9, 2010

European flooding

Over the past month, heavy rainfall from different storms across parts of Europe has caused massive amounts of flooding - some water moving slowly across river plains and farmland, some moving swiftly through cities and villages. Dozens have lost their lives, many thousands evacuated their homes, some repeatedly - Poland in particular is suffering its worst flooding in decades. More recently, parts of Spain and France have experienced flash floods that have carried away people and vehicles. Collected here are some images of the flooding in Europe from the past several weeks.

1. Local inhabitants are evacuated from a flooded village of Sokolniki in Southern Poland, May 20, 2010. Flash floods caused by days of heavy rainfall hit parts of central Europe, disrupting power supplies and forcing thousands of people from their homes. Southern Poland, parts of the Czech Republic and Slovakia and northern Hungary were among the worst affected regions. (REUTERS/Krzysztof Koch/Agencja Gazeta)
2. People look at the high waters of the Wisla river after flash floods in Wloclawek, central Poland May 22, 2010. (REUTERS/Agencja Gazeta/Wojciech Kardas)
3. A man stands in front of a flooded house by the Vistula River which broke through the embankments in Wiaczemin close to Swiniary near Plock, central Poland May 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Agencja Gazeta/Dominik Dziecinny)
4. Farmers help a horse to jump into an amphibious vehicle in flooded Juliszew village in central Poland at Wisla river on May 24, 2010. (JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
5. A rescue boat passes through a flooded area near the village of Swiniary in central Poland, May 25, 2010. (REUTERS/Peter Andrews)
6. Jolanta Binkowska carries plants as she is evacuated from her flooded house in the village of Troszyny Nowe, central Poland, Tuesday, May 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Kasia Mala)
7. An aerial view shows the flooding near the village of Swiniary, in Central Poland, on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
8. A dog waits for rescue in a flooded farm in Juliszew village in central Poland at Wisla river on May 24, 2010. (JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
9. An aerial view shows a structure in the river Oder, snear Ratzdorf, Germany, on Wednesday, May 26 2010. Flooding from southwestern Poland was advancing downstream to the border region. (AP Photo/dapd/Berthold Stadler)
10. A roe deer jumps into a fence as she tries to find a way to flee from from flooding on May 18, 2010 in Bohumin town, in eastern Czech Republic. (MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images)
11. The flooded river Danube in Passau, southern Germany on June 3, 2010. After heavy rainfalls, many streets were flooded near the banks of the rivers Danube and Inn, which join in Passau. (CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
12. The moon shines over the flooded river Oder next to a single house on May 27, 2010 in Kostrzyn, Poland. (Carsten Koall/Getty Images)
13. A dog stands in front of a house destroyed by a landslide in Klodne,southern Poland, on Thursday, June 3, 2010.The landslide happened after massive flooding in Poland last month. (AP Photo/Jarek Praszkiewicz)
14. A man walks in his submerged sitting room in Ruskye Komarivtsy, near Uzhgorod after heavy flooding hit the area on June 4, 2010. (OLEXANDER ZOBIN/AFP/Getty Images)
15. Locals form a brigade to carry sandbags for temporary flood defenses in Ocsalanos, Hungary on June 5, 2010. Heavy rains caused the river Hernad to swell, flooding parts of western Hungary. (REUTERS/NEPSZABADSAG/Arpad Kurucz)
16. Locals save cattle from the flooding Hernad river in Gesztely, Hungary on June 5, 2010. (REUTERS/NEPSZABADSAG/Arpad Kurucz)
17. Emergency workers look at a railway bridge destroyed by floods from Poprad river near Nowy Sacz, Poland on June 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Agencja Gazeta/Jakub Ociepa)
18. Cyclists ride through the flooded Danube River in Budapest, Hungary on June 7,2010. The Parliament building sits in the background. (REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh)
19. Partially submerged buildings are seen after the Bodva river flooded in Edeleny, northern Hungary June 7, 2010. (REUTERS/NEPSZABADSAG/Arpad Kurucz)
20. A Hungarian gypsy family sits near their tent after the Bodva river flooded their home in Edeleny, northern Hungary June 7, 2010. (REUTERS/NEPSZABADSAG/Arpad Kurucz)
21. Residents walk through a flooded street in Felsozsolca, Hungary on June 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Karoly Arvai)
22. An industrial diver prepares before he attempts to turn off a water system tap at a flooded house in Felsozsolca June 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Karoly Arvai)
23. A wet fox rests in safety after firefighters rescued it from the flood in Warsaw, where the Vistula river reached unusually high levels on Friday, May 21, 2010, in Warsaw, Poland. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
24. A Hungarian Army helicopter transports sandbags to build a dam at the Hernad river in Hungary on June 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Karoly Arvai)
25. Local residents try to rescue a car from flooding water near the village of Alsovadasz, northeastern Hungary, Monday, May 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
26. A local resident carries a fish, just caught on a flooded street, in the village of Felsohamor, Hungary, Sunday, May 16, 2010. The local River Szinva burst its banks flooding residential areas which residents tried to protect with sandbags seen at rear. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
27. A resident paddles by flooded garden fences in a rowboat on May 27, 2010 in Brieskow-Finkenherd near Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. (Carsten Koall/Getty Images)
28. Prosthetic legs lie on a bed in a hospital that was evacuated in Szikszo, northern Hungary May 17, 2010, due to flash floods caused by heavy rain. (REUTERS/Arpad Kurucz/NEPSZABADSAG)
29. Rescue workers stand on some sandbags of a temporary dam of Bodva stream nearby Szendro village as flood water breaks the dam in northeastern Hungary about 200 km from Budapest on May 17, 2010. (PETER KOHALMI/AFP/Getty Images)
30. A man sits with his dog on a ledge on the upper floor of his home surrounded by flood water on the outskirts of the town of Sandomierz, south east Poland, Wednesday, May 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
31. A man carries a dog as he walks across a flooded street in Sandomierz in Southern Poland, May 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Pawel Malecki/Agencja Gazeta)
32. A woman is evacuated by a fireman in the city of Czestochowa, southern Poland May 18, 2010. (REUTERS/Grzegorz Skowronek/Agencj)
33. Residents leave their homes during a flood caused by a broken dam on River Bodva in Edeleny northern Hungary June 4, 2010. (REUTERS/NEPSZABADSAG/Zoltan Kocsis)
34. Water rushes through a broken sandbag barrier set up by volunteers and emergency service workers against rising waters of the Sleza river caused by flash floods in Wroclaw in southern western Poland May 22, 2010. (REUTERS/Agencja Gazeta/Maciej Swierczynski)
35. A scuba diver of the Polish fire brigade, builds up a wall of sandbags under the water of the river Brdzie, in the city of Bydgoszcz, Poland on June 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Arkadiusz Wojtasiewicz/Agencja Gazeta)
36. A man is helped out of water in a flooded area on the outskirts of the town of Tarnobrzeg, southeast Poland, Wednesday, May 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Krzysztof Lokaj)
37. Firemen evacuate children in the flooded part of Tarnobrzeg in southern Poland, May 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Krzysztof Koch/Agencja Gazeta)
38. An aerial view shows the Hernad river flooding in the north-east of Hungary as rescue workers and volunteers helped by a helicopter work at blocking off the damaged dam on June 9, 2010. (GERGELY BOTAR/AFP/Getty Images)
39. The river Artuby floods the streets in Draguignan, southern France, Tuesday, June 16, 2010. Regional authorities in southeastern France say at least a dozen people have been killed and many are missing in the aftermath of flash floods that followed powerful rainstorms.Unusually heavy rains recently in the Var region have transformed streets into muddy rivers that swept up trees, cars and other objects. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
40. People walk by damaged cars in the aftermath of flooding in a western district of the French south eastern city of Draguignan on June 16, 2010. (STEPHANE DANNA/AFP/Getty Images)
41. A man cools off at the flooded Danube river banks in downtown Belgrade, Serbia on June 16, 2010. The Danube river has risen to dangerous levels in Belgrade and the authorities are preparing emergency measures to protect the Serbian capital from flooding. (REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic)
42. Surfers walk in front of a car stuck on the beach after heavy rains in Verdicio, Spain on June 15, 2010. Heavy rains during the last week caused flooding throughout the northern Spanish regions of Galicia and Asturias, leaving at least two people dead. (REUTERS/Eloy Alonso)