Towns in southwestern Poland prepare for flood peak

For days, the people of Olawa and Wroclaw in southwestern Poland have been watching water levels in the Oder and Olawa rivers and waiting for the expected flood wave to arrive.

They have seen the reports and photos of the havoc wreaked by flooding across Central and Eastern Europe over the past week and remember all too well the major floods in their region in 1997 and 2010.

Leaving nothing to chance, they have come out in droves to fill and stack sandbags and protect their towns and homes.