Soldiers and volunteers battle to reinforce Poland and Hungary's river banks after severe floods

A flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday. Credit: AP

Thousands of soldiers, firefighters and volunteers have reinforced river banks in Hungary and Poland, after at least 17 died in severe flooding across central Europe.

Heavy flooding caused by record rainfall has affected large parts of the region in recent days, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria.

The Hungarian capital of Budapest on the Danube River, and the southwestern Polish city of Wroclaw on the Oder River, are bracing for the worst as flooding is expected in the coming days.

A resident hugs with her relative after being evacuated from her flooded house in Czech Republic. Credit: AP

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has deployed soldiers to strengthen barriers along the Danube, while thousands of volunteers are filling sandbags in riverside towns.

In Budapest, authorities shut down the city's lower quays, which are expected to be breached by rising waters later in the day.

Meanwhile, firefighters and soldiers in Wroclaw spent Monday night using sandbags to reinforce river embankments.

An aerial view of a flooded neighbourhood in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Monday. Credit: AP

The city's zoo has called for volunteers to help fill sandbags on Tuesday, saying they would be "extremely grateful."

Wroclaw officials said they expected the flood wave to peak around Friday, though some predict it will happen sooner.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with a crisis team early Tuesday and reported that meteorologists are providing conflicting forecasts.

Aerial video shows the extent of flooding near a town close to the Czech Republic's border with Poland

His government declared a state of natural disaster across the affected region in southern Poland.

South of Wroclaw, residents worked through the night to protect Nysa, a town of 44,000, after the Nysa Klodzka River overflowed.

Mayor Kordian Kolbiarz reported that 2,000 people of all ages formed a human chain to pass sandbags to the riverbank to try and save their town from the rising waters.

“We simply … did everything we could," Kolbiarz wrote on Facebook.

"This chain of people fighting for our Nysa was incredible. Thank you. We fought for Nysa. Our home. Our families. Our future.”

In the Czech Republic, water levels are receding in the two most affected northeast regions.

The government approved the deployment of 2,000 troops for clean-up efforts, with damage expected to cost billions of euros.

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