Floods worsen in central Europe, Auschwitz closed

An aerial view of the Ondava river flooded in Trebisov, eastern Slovakia, on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Floods caused by heavy rain have been hitting central Europe since Saturday. (AP Photo,CTK/Peter Lazar) *

By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writer

May 18, 2010 6:08 AM PT

A resident walks through flooded street of Bohumin, north east Czech Republic, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Floods, caused by days of heavy rain, swept through central Europe on Monday and Tuesday, killing at least four people and forcing the evacuation of thousands more. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A bench is seen in front of a flooded house in Bohumin, north east Czech Republic, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Floods, caused by days of heavy rain, swept through central Europe on Monday and Tuesday, killing at least four people and forcing the evacuation of thousands more. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A Hungarian farmer smokes his pipe beside an over-flooded road near the village of Kiskinizs, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to heavy rains. Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend also are causing flooding in areas of Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying homes and roads, and cutting off villages. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

A man washes his hand in flood water while working on a dike protecting the village of Gesztely, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to the unusual wet weather and heavy rains. Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend also are causing flooding in areas of Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying homes and roads, and cutting off villages. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

Police academy students load sandbags onto a broken dike to protect homes from flooding water in the village of Ocsanalos, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to the unusual wet weather and heavy rains. Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend also are causing flooding in areas of Poland , Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying homes and roads, and cutting off villages. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

Hungarian farmers drive their trucks through an over-flooded road near the village of Kiskinizs, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to the unusual wet weather and heavy rains. Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend also are causing flooding in areas of Poland , Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying homes and roads, and cutting off villages. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

People stand on the embankment of the flooded river Wisla in the city of Krakow in Southern Poland,on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Five persons have drowned and over 2000 have been evacuated as weather forecasts predict more rain in the coming days. (AP Photo/str)

A Hungarian boy looks at the River Hernad while being evacuated through an over-flooded road after the rising water surrounded the village of Kiskinizs, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to the unusual wet weather and heavy rains.Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend also are causing flooding in areas of Poland , Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying homes and roads, and cutting off villages. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

An aerial view of the Oder river flooded in Ostrava, Northern Moravia, Czech Republic, on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Floods caused by heavy rain have been hitting northern and central Moravia since Saturday. (AP Photo,CTK/Jaroslav Ozana) *

Police officers load sandbags to protect a broken dike from flooding water near the village of Gesztely, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to the unusual wet weather and heavy rains.Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend also are causing flooding in areas of Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying homes and roads, and cutting off villages. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

Villagers are being evacuated through an over-flooded road after the rising water surrounded their houses in Kiskinizs, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to the unusual wet weather and heavy rains. Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend also are causing flooding in areas of Poland , Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying homes and roads, and cutting off villages. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

Police officers work in a row while loading sandbags to protect a broken dike from flooding water near the village of Gesztely, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to the unusual wet weather and heavy rains. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

A firemen evacuate local people from flooded houses in Troubky, Northern Moravia, Czech Republic, on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Troubky, a village of about 2000 inhabitants, is considered a symbol of the disastrous floods in Moravia in 1997 which killed nine people and demolished more than a half of the houses in the village. Current floods caused by heavy rain have been hitting northern and central Moravia since Saturday. (AP Photo,CTK/Vladislav Galgonek)

A villager looks at the River Hernad from a row of sandbags protecting the broken dike of the village of Gesztely, northeastern Hungary, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Several swollen rivers causing floods throughout Hungary, while roads remain closed due to the unusual wet weather and heavy rains. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

WARSAW, Poland —

Flooding in southern Poland has killed at least five people, and officials closed the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site on Tuesday to protect its Holocaust archives and artifacts.

Heavy rains that began in central Europe last weekend also are causing flooding in areas of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with rivers bursting their banks and inundating low-lying homes and roads, and cutting off villages.

Thousands of people have been evacuated, and electricity has been knocked out in some areas. Rail travel also was paralyzed, rendering some areas unreachable.

Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai of Hungary declared a state of emergency in the northeastern Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen county, allowing those suffering financial losses to claim compensation.

In Poland, nearly 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes and the flooding claimed two more victims Tuesday, including one of the thousands of firefighters involved in the rescue efforts. Three people were reported dead on Monday.

In Krakow, a major bridge was closed as the Vistula River nearly reached it.

At Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former Nazi death camp that draws about a million visitors a year, authorities carried historical documents and some artifacts, including brushes and bowls that belonged to victims, to the upper floors of old barracks that are used to house exhibits, said spokesman Jaroslaw Mensfelt.

Mensfelt said the memorial site was closed to visitors, the first time that has happened due to the threat of floods. Waters were rising in two nearby rivers, the Vistula and the Sola.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk traveled to the area and met with angry residents of the flooded village of Proszowki, near Krakow, who complained of receiving little help.

In Hungary, some 1,500 people were contributing to flood defense in the northeast, using 500,000 sandbags to reinforce dikes and working to contain the flooded rivers, including the Sajo, Bodva, Hernad and Berettyo.

The flooding and strong winds disrupted rail services in many parts of Hungary, while several towns in the northeast were unreachable. As of early Tuesday, more than 1,400 Hungarians had been forced to leave their homes.

The situation also was serious in the northwestern Czech Republic, where the rising waters of the Becva River flooded the town of Troubky, which was partially evacuated.

In neighboring Slovakia, the government said it would deploy up to 3,700 soldiers to help local authorities cope with flooding.

And in Serbia, President Boris Tadic toured a southern area that was badly hit by the flooding over the weekend.

Tadic pledged government help to rebuild the flood defense walls in the town of Trgoviste, where two people died on Saturday when their cottage was washed away by the floods. The situation there has stabilized since and there have been no fresh floods.

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Associated Press Writers Monika Scislowska in Warsaw; Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary; and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.