Deep freeze claims at least 30 lives in Poland

THE death toll from a deep freeze in Poland has increased to 30 with a dozen more deaths overnight, officials said yesterday, while some of the worst floods in a century devastated parts of the Balkans.

Many of those who died in Poland are drunks or homeless people and police canvassed the streets in the hopes of preventing more from freezing to death. Temperatures across most of Poland were around -15 C (5 F).

Authorities, meanwhile, declared a state of emergency in Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro and evacuated hundreds of people after heavy rainfall caused severe flooding along the Drina River — the worst in 104 years. But floodwaters receded significantly overnight in Bosnia, leaving a trail of mud and debris in many areas.