Poland storms kill 11

WARSAW, Poland

(July 26, 2001 09:52 a.m. EDT ) - At least 11 people have died as heavy flooding and deadly lightning strikes gripped much of central and southern Poland overnight, officials said Thursday.

Among the latest victims were a young man and woman killed by lighting Wednesday as they sought shelter under a tree in Warsaw, police said. In the Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski region, a woman and her child drowned, and a young man was killed by lightning.

Torrential rain brought flooding to hundreds of towns and villages in southern Poland on Thursday, damaging roads and buildings and forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes, said Artur Paszko, a spokesman for Malopolska Province.

About 3,500 firefighters working overnight helped evacuate at least 8,500 residents in flooded southern regions.

Dozens of people were plucked from their rooftops by helicopter crews as water rose in the village of Budzow, about 220 miles south of Warsaw.

The overflowing Skawa River also threatened the area around Oswiecim, west of the provincial capital of Krakow. Flooding south of Krakow damaged the rail link to the southern mountain resort of Zakopane, Paszko said.

Krakow authorities ordered additional metal supports installed on dikes protecting the Renaissance city as water rose in the Vistula River.

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