Robert Czerniawski, the director of the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW), reported a 10 cm drop in water levels in the city during a crisis meeting on Friday morning, attended by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

There had been fears that Wrocław, home to 638,000 people, could succumb to the severe flooding that has devastated numerous towns and villages in southwestern Poland in recent days.

The floods, the worst in decades, have also wreaked havoc across the region, with Austria, Romania, and the Czech Republic badly hit.

However, Czerniawski warned that water levels were rising in other areas, and concerns remained high.

In the northwestern Zachodniopomorskie region, several villages are now at risk, according to Joanna Kopczyńska, head of Wody Polskie, the state-owned institute that manages Poland’s water resources. Most reservoirs are functioning normally, but precautionary safety releases are taking place, according to the authorities.

Danube waters still high

Meanwhile, the Hungarian authorities are bracing the country to deal with the floods as the waters make their way down the River Danube, with protective barriers up to nine meters high being erected in Budapest.

However, hydrologists are forecasting that the peak will be approximately half a meter lower than the record level observed in 2013.