2005 European floods

The disaster came at a time when Portugal was suffering from intense forest fires which left 15 dead and days before the powerful Hurricane Katrina hit the United States.

Before it had ended, on 22 August 2005, the Ministry of Interior was reported as saying that floods and landslides affected over 500 villages in 31 districts: 200 homes completely destroyed, 2,000+ other structures affected, 11,000 households flooded, 9,000 wells flooded with rainfall and groundwater displacement, 34,000+ hectares of farmland and 2,000+ hectares of forests and grasslands destroyed, 9 kilometers of highway, 265 kilometers of county roads and 906 other roads were all severely damaged, and 25 cities lost power.

The city of Târgu Mureș, an important regional centre, was also affected by the rising of waters on the Târnava River, even though there wasn't a significant amount of damage caused to infrastructure.

The localities of Popeşti, Suplacu de Barcău and Valea lui Mihai were affected in Bihor County.

The Swiss capital of Bern was also heavily hit after the Aar burst its banks, and the town of Brienz saw 400 residents evacuated.

The main phone and data line between Vorarlberg and the rest of Austria was destroyed and had to be replaced by a radio communication.

With rain and flood waters subsiding on 27 August, people started to return to their homes, rail and road routes reopened and the cleanup began.