MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. The Polish government has introduced a state of natural disaster for a month in flood-hit areas in the south and southwest of the country, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters after an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

"We are here after an emergency government meeting. I convened this session primarily to pass an order on [imposing the] natural disaster regime as soon as possible," Tusk said at a press conference broadcast by TVP Info.

The regime applies to 17 districts of the Silesian, Lower Silesian and Opole voivodships, including the towns of Bielsko-Biala, Jelenia Gora and Walbrzych, the order says. The disaster regime is imposed starting from September 16 for 30 days.

On September 15, Tusk announced his plans to apply this measure on his X page.

Large-scale floods have struck the Silesian and Lower Silesian voivodships in the south and southwest of Poland after torrential rains caused the Eastern Neisse River to overflow. The floods are being described as the worst since 1997. The city center of Klodzko and parts of Jelenia Gora, near the Czech border, were submerged. The army is assisting rescuers and firefighters in relief efforts. In the past 24 hours alone, 2,600 people have been evacuated from the affected areas. According to media reports, five people have died. Around 50,000 residents in southern Poland have been cut off from power, and 350 schools in four voivodships have been closed.