Strong storms in the Czech Republic: mud flooded D1, streams formed in the streets, 2 cm hail fell

In the afternoon, mainly residents of central and southern Bohemia felt strong storms, which required the intervention of firefighters and rescuers. Residents of Vysočina also faced heavy rains and streams of water in the streets. Heavy rains hit the Czech Republic during the afternoon.

Firefighters in central Bohemia had up to ten trips due to the storm during the early evening of Monday, most often removing fallen trees or pumping water from cellars. On the D1 highway near Soutice in the Benešovsk region, they were cleaning up the washed-up soil, Jan Sýkora, spokesman for the Central Bohemian Fire Department, told ČTK after 7:30 p.m.

The highway was temporarily impassable at the 57th kilometer in the direction of Brno, after which cars started to drive in the parking lane. “Mud flowed in from the fields, the road is not damaged,” said police spokesman Pavel Truxa.

Firefighters also intervened in Kondrac in Benešovsk, where water got from the street into one of the houses. In Hradišťek near Sedlčany in the Příbram region, firefighters were removing a fallen tree and in Trhový Štěpánov in the Benešov region, they went to a flooded stream. “Branches got caught under the bridge, so water began to accumulate there and threatened to flow towards the hotel,” said Sýkora. Firefighters in Vysočina dealt with similar situations.

The current storm warning applies to southern Bohemia, Vysočina and Moravia. Storms can be accompanied by up to two-centimeter hail, wind gusts of around 70 kilometers per hour and short-term intense precipitation. According to Sýkora, the storms have so far only marginally affected Central Bohemia.

Due to the afternoon storm, some roads in České Budějovice are impassable. Water accumulated under the viaducts in Generála Píky Street and Pražská třída. Traffic there is directed by the police, informed their spokesman Miroslav Šupík.

Firefighters have so far intervened in two dozen incidents due to the storm, all of them related to České Budějovice. “We mainly draw water from cellars and garages and from clogged canals,” said Vendula Matějů, a spokeswoman for the South Bohemian Fire Department. In České Budějovice, it started to rain after 3:00 p.m. and the intense downpour lasted approximately half an hour.