Austria on Wednesday announced a package of measures in response to severe flooding across the country, including a tripling of the federal disaster fund and tax postponements for affected companies.

While storm Boris, which brought the enormous rainfall, was caused by the rather unusual collision of polar air and warm, humid air from the unusually hot Mediterranean, the deeper causes lie in the dramatic acceleration of climate change.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday pledged billions of euros in aid for Central European countries that suffered enormous damage to infrastructure and housing during the massive flooding that has so far claimed 24 lives in the region.

Heavy rains caused severe flooding in Central Europe, affecting countries like Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania.

A firefighter has died during a flood rescue in Austria, one person has died in Poland and five have died in Romania, police say.

A storm system that has wreaked havoc across central Europe brought devastating floods to the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna on Thursday for the second year in a row, forcing people to leave their homes and schools to close.