The worst flooding in years moved Tuesday across a broad swath of Central Europe, taking lives and destroying homes. Heavy flooding has affected a large part of the region in recent days, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Austria. Other places braced for the worst yet to come, including two Central European gems: Budapest, the Hungarian capital on the Danube River, and Wroclaw, a city in southwestern Poland on the Oder River, which boasts a Gothic cathedral and other historic landmarks.

Hungary deployed soldiers to reinforce barriers along the Danube as thousands of volunteers filled sandbags in dozens of riverside settlements. In Budapest, authorities closed the lower quays, which were expected to be breached by rising waters. The lower half of the city’s iconic Margaret Island was also closed.

In Wroclaw, firefighters and soldiers worked through the night to reinforce river embankments with sandbags. The city said it expected the flood wave to peak there around Friday, though some had predicted that would happen sooner.

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

In Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, the deputy mayor for the environment, Jakub Mrva, said the level of the Danube had peaked and would slowly decrease. He said that mobile barriers had saved the historic centre, but that there was still damage, including to tram lines.

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