Central Europe's Budapest and Wroclaw fortify riverbanks against impending floods.

As the worst flooding in years hit Central Europe on Tuesday, soldiers and firefighters used sandbags to strengthen riverbanks and provided food and water to isolated communities.

The recent flooding in the region has affected a significant portion of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria, resulting in approximately 20 deaths. The full extent of the human toll is still unknown as casualties have also been reported in Romania, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland.

In some areas, the waters were receding, leaving behind mounds of debris. As reports of looting came in, government and military authorities vowed to crack down on perpetrators. In response, Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, announced that the military was deploying soldiers equipped with night vision and thermal imaging devices to support the police in areas where people had to leave for higher ground.

"No more relying on looters, darkness, or electricity shortages," he tweeted Monday night.

Budapest and Wroclaw, both located in Central Europe, are bracing for potential difficulties, with Budapest situated on the Danube River and Wroclaw on the Oder River, both featuring historic landmarks such as a Gothic cathedral.

Thousands of volunteers filled sandbags in dozens of riverside settlements as Hungary deployed soldiers to reinforce barriers along the Danube.

The lower quays and the iconic Margaret Island were closed in Budapest due to the expected breach by rising waters.

On Tuesday morning, the city zoo on the Oder called for volunteers to help reinforce river embankments with sandbags. Firefighters and soldiers had been working through the night to reinforce the embankments with sandbags.

The zoo expressed gratitude for our help, stating that both we and our animals would be extremely appreciative.

The city predicted that the flood wave would peak on Friday, but some experts predicted it would happen earlier. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with a crisis team early Tuesday and said there are conflicting forecasts from meteorologists.

Tusk's government has declared a state of natural disaster across southern Poland.

In the south of Wroclaw, residents bravely battled to save Nysa, a town of 44,000 people, after the Nysa Klodzka River overflowed the previous day. Mayor Kordian Kolbiarz stated that 2,000 "women, men, children, and the elderly" came out to try to save their town from the rising waters, forming a human chain that passed sandbags to the river bank.

""We did everything we could to fight for Nysa, our home, families, and future, and it was an incredible chain of people who joined us in this fight. Thank you," Kolbiarz wrote on Facebook."

On Tuesday, the city center in Nysa was spared from flooding, authorities announced later in the day.

In Bratislava, Slovakia, the deputy mayor for the environment, Jakub Mrva, stated that the Danube river had reached its peak and would gradually decrease. He added that mobile barriers had protected the historic center, but there was still harm caused, such as to tram lines.

Mrva informed The Associated Press in an interview that significant damage was observed at the flooded zoo and the city forests of Bratislava, where many trees have died.

In the two northeast regions of the Czech Republic, waters have been receding. The government has approved the deployment of 2,000 troops to aid in clean-up efforts. The damage is predicted to reach billions of euros.

The Czech government attempted to aid local authorities in organizing regional elections on Friday and Saturday, as several polling stations were severely damaged. Nevertheless, the planned evacuation of approximately 1,000 individuals in the town of Veseli nad Luznici may be delayed due to the fact that the waters have not yet reached critical levels.