Soldiers and residents in southwestern Poland are laying sandbags near swollen rivers around the city of Wroclaw to protect homes and businesses after days of flooding across Central Europe.

STORY: Bursting their banks and inundating towns - more rivers across central Europe have been unable to deal with a deadly deluge of heavy rain from the worst flooding in at least two decades.And on Monday Poland's government declared a disaster in affected areas and said that it had set aside $260 million to help victims.

Soldiers dropped sandbags from military helicopters to reinforce river embankments and evacuated residents as the worst flooding in years spread Tuesday to a broad swath of Central Europe, taking lives and destroying homes.

Residents were transported by boat from their homes in southern Poland on Sunday, September 15, as torrential rain caused deadly flooding across parts of the country.Video released by the General Command of the Armed Forces in Poland shows residents on a boat being rescued alongside a dog.

Soldiers have dropped sandbags from military helicopters to reinforce river embankments and evacuated residents as the worst flooding in years spreads across Central Europe, taking lives and destroying homes.

Exceptionally heavy rainfall has been pounding Central Europe and has prompted deadly flooding in the region, with four new deaths reported in Poland, three in Czech Republic and one in Romania.

By Barbara Erling WROCLAW, Poland (Reuters) -Flood defences in Poland's third-largest city Wroclaw looked to have held firm on Thursday, after the worst floods in at least two decades ravaged central Europe this week.

Poland's third-largest city Wroclaw was bracing for peaking flood waters on Thursday, with early indications its defences were holding firm, after the worst floods in at least two decades ravaged central Europe this week.