By David W Cerny and Marek Strzelecki LIPOVA LAZNE, Czech Republic (Reuters) -One person drowned in southwest Poland and thousands were evacuated across the border in the Czech Republic as heavy rains continued to batter central Europe on Sunday,

Climate change is influencing extreme weather events like the flooding across six countries that has led to mass evacuations of cities as the waters continue to rise.

Soldiers and volunteers in southwestern Poland have laid sandbags near swollen rivers around the city of Wrocław 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.