The terrible effects of the destruction of the century-old Stronie Śląskie dam, Poland

Residents of Stronie Śląskie and Lądek Zdrój, two towns in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, will not forget 15 September 2024.

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Three days earlier, on September 12, heavy rain began to fall in southern Poland, caused by storm Boris. On that day, the first floods began, affecting mainly the Silesian, Lower Silesian and Opole voivodeships. On September 15, disaster struck: the earth embankment next to the Stronie Śląskie dam in Lower Silesia broke. You can see here three photos by Irek Daniusiar showing the state of the dam:

The dam was 16 metres high and was built between 1906 and 1908, when the town was part of Germany, to contain the frequent flooding caused by the Morawka River, a tributary of the Biała Lądecka. In recent years, it was a nearly dry reservoir, until Storm Boris came. You can watch a video of the broken dam here, published that same day by Małgorzata Waszkiewicz:

Przerwana tama.
Stronie Śląskie odcięte od świata. @Radio_TOK_FM pic.twitter.com/iknZoIXWSp

— Małgorzata Waszkiewicz (@magaciak) September 15, 2024

After the dam broke, the Morawka River destroyed everything in its path in Stronie Śląskie and the neighbouring town of Lądek Zdrój, as we can see in this video posted by MaggieMu:

The police station in Stronie Śląskie was completely washed away by the water, which also swept away a fire truck and destroyed or damaged many buildings. The two towns were left without electricity and practically isolated, until the rescue services arrived with helicopters. On Monday, Brat Pogard posted a video showing the current state of Stronie Śląskie and Lądek Zdrój:

Stronie Śląskie and Lądek Zdrój have suffered losses of millions and will take years to recover from this severe blow, which is not the first, as both towns already suffered severe flooding in 1997. As a European citizen, I hope that the European Union will do its utmost to help with the reconstruction.