Rising rivers threaten southern Poland as flooding recedes elsewhere in Central Europe

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Soldiers and volunteers in southwestern Poland laid sandbags Wednesday near swollen rivers around the city of Wroclaw to protect homes and businesses after days of flooding across Central Europe.

Poland joins Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania in being hard hit by floods following record rains in the region starting last Thursday. Authorities have reported 23 deaths, with seven each in Poland and Romania, five in Austria and four in the Czech Republic.

The floods in Central Europe combined with deadly wildfires in Portugal are joint proof of a “climate breakdown” that will become the norm unless drastic action is taken, the European Union’s head office said Wednesday.

The fourth death in the Czech Republic was reported Wednesday, when police said they found the body of a 70-year-old woman who was swept away by waters on Sunday in the town of Kobyla nad Vidnavkou near the town of Jesenik, located in the badly hit northeast.

The weather has improved, with warm and sunny conditions in the Czech Republic, Poland and elsewhere. Water levels were falling in some places, allowing authorities and residents to clean up debris.

Firefighters in Poland were pumping water out of flooded streets and basements. And in Romania, about 1,000 firefighters were working across the country to clean up severely affected areas, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said Wednesday in a Facebook post.

But some areas are still under threat, particularly in southwestern Poland.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk held crisis meetings in Wroclaw with local officials and rescue services, urging protective measures and saying his government will help those affected. Floodwaters were expected to crest late Wednesday, and high water levels were expected to continue for many hours, even days.

Soldiers and residents in Marcinkowice, near Wroclaw, laid sandbags near a bridge over the Olawa River, whose waters flow into the Oder, the major river that rises in the Oder Mountains in the Czech Republic and runs north through Poland to Germany.

The community leader of the town of Olawa, Artur Piotrowski, described the situation as difficult. He told the Polish state news agency PAP that two villages in a low-lying area have been flooded since Monday and residents have refused to evacuate.

Thousands of Polish soldiers were in action. Some evacuated people and animals — including dogs and horses — from flood-affected areas and distributed food and drinking water. The army also posted on X on Wednesday that it set up a field hospital in the town of Nysa after patients in a hospital there had to be evacuated earlier this week.

Soldiers also were building a temporary bridge in the town of Glucholazy to replace one that was washed away by the flooding.

Residents in another flood-damaged town, Stronie Slaskie, have appealed to Tusk to send someone to direct the cleaning and recovery action, saying it was chaotic and inefficient.

Experts have been preparing for flood threats due to the cresting Oder River in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, which seems to have avoided any major flooding, and in Wroclaw, home to about 640,000 residents, which suffered disastrous flooding in 1997.

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows flooded homes and fields following record rains in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Chicken stand on the rooftop of a garage to shelter themselves from floods in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

An aerial view of a flooded neighbourhood in Bohumin, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

A cyclist looks at Donaukanal channel flood its banks at Urania observatory in central Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows floodwaters and debris after record rains in Glucholazy, Poland, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows firefighters removing piles of debris dumped in the streets by high flood wave that is passing through southwestern Poland, in Glucholazy, Poland, on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. ( Marcin Muskala/KG PSP via AP)

A view of a flooded area near the Danube river in Bratislava, Slovakia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

People take photos of rising waters on the banks of the River Danube, in Bratislava, Slovakia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomas Hrivnak)

Residents paddle through a flooded street in Bohumin, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

In this photo released by the Romanian Emergency Services Galati (ISU Galati), a rescuer carries a woman in Pechea, Romania, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 after torrential rainstorms left scores of people stranded in flooded areas. (Romanian Emergency Services - ISU Galati via AP)

An old tram car is parked in flooded area near the Danube river in Bratislava, Slovakia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows flooded fields and damaged homes after record rains along the Biala Ladecka River in Stronie Slaskie, Poland, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

On this handout photo provided by the State Fire Service of Poland, firefighters inspecting safety of houses following heavy flooding in the town of Stronie Slaskie, southwestern Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Tomasz Fijołek/KG PSP via AP)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows debris and mud after heavy rains and flooding in Stronie Slaskie, Poland, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

On this handout photo provided by the State Fire Service of Poland, firefighters inspecting safety of houses following heavy flooding in the town of Stronie Slaskie, southwestern Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Tomasz Fijołek/KG PSP via AP)

On this handout photo provided by the State Fire Service of Poland, a firefighter writes "Zakaz" (Entry prohibited), on a building damaged by following heavy flooding in the town of Stronie Slaskie, southwestern Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Tomasz Fijołek/KG PSP via AP)

An aerial picture taken with a drone shows a flooded area and the swollen Danube River in Kisoroszi, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Gergely Janossy/MTI via AP)

An aerial picture taken with a drone shows a flooded area and the swollen Danube River in Kisoroszi, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Gergely Janossy/MTI via AP)

An aerial picture taken with a drone shows a flooded area and the swollen Danube River in Kisoroszi, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Gergely Janossy/MTI via AP)

An aerial picture taken with a drone shows a flooded area and the swollen Danube River in Kisoroszi, Hungary, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Gergely Janossy/MTI via AP)

A caffe is seen damaged after the high flood waves passed through the town, in Nysa, southwestern Poland, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Krzysztof Zatycki)

A view of flooded streets in Plav, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Stanislav Hodina)

Geese stand on an outdoor table in a flooded neighbourhood in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

A view of flooded sports club in Plav, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Stanislav Hodina)

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows firefighters pump water and mud from city streets and help clean the city of Głogow that was hit by a high flood wave, in Głogow, southwestern Poland, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (KG PSP via AP)

This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows firefighters pump water and mud from city streets and help clean the city of Głogow that was hit by a high flood wave, in Głogow, southwestern Poland, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (KG PSP via AP)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)