Massive rainfall inundated parts of Central and Eastern Europe in mid-September, dumping as much as two-thirds of some cities’ annual rain in just a few days.
The rainfall from the weather system, called Storm Boris, drove floods that claimed 24 lives. But early warnings from weather forecasters gave many cities time to prepare, and infrastructure improvements in others helped protect residents from the deluges, says Maja Vahlberg, a climate risk consultant with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. It’s a sign, she says, that some parts of Europe, at least, are beginning to adapt to the more extreme weather brought on by human-caused climate change.
