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01:28

Water levels in Central Europe are finally receding after heavy rains caused major floods which killed at least five people in Austria. The country's Lower Austria region has been particularly hit with 21 dam breaches and over a thousand evacuated properties.

Now that the clean-up work is underway, many are wondering whether the extent of this disaster could have been prevented. Climate-related events, such as the warmest Mediterranean sea temperature on record, have led to increased humidity and heavy rainfall.

‌But there are other factors. No other European country is urbanizing as rapidly as Austria - with large areas being covered over with concrete. And that's stopping rainwater draining into the ground.

A view of a flooded road, following heavy rainfalls which caused flooding, in Rust, Austria. /Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

"An asphalt surface can only carry as much water as the dimensions of the drainage pipe laid under the asphalt allow. But it can't store anything," biologist Thomas Hein told the newspaper Der Standard.

The Institute of Hydrobiology and Water Management at Vienna's University of Natural Resources warns that in Austria the covering of land with concrete is continuing every day.

For now, hundreds of households are still without electricity and drinking water. Authorities say the extent of the damage cannot yet be estimated.

Besides Austria, Poland and Czechia, have been particularly hit by heavy rains over the past days, leading to one of the worst floods in recent history.