At least four people died and thousands of homes were damaged by flooding in eastern Romania on Saturday, officials said, as surging river levels put authorities on alert in much of central and eastern Europe following days of torrential rain, Paralel.Az reports citing Reuters.

More rainfall is forecast in the coming days in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, southern Germany and parts of Austria.

Residents of some towns along the Czech-Polish border were evacuated as rivers rose past alert levels while the Czech capital, Prague, which suffered catastrophic floods in 2002, put preventative anti-flood measures in place.

In Romania, flooding affected eight counties, the country's emergency response unit said, and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was due to visit hard-hit Galati county, where the four people were found dead and about 5,000 homes were damaged.

Television images from the area showed streets flooded with muddy water, silt and debris as rescuers led residents to safety. Authorities deployed a Black Hawk helicopter to aid the search and rescue operation.