Central Europe began counting the cost of deadly and devastating floods caused by Storm Boris, as the European Union pledged billions of euro in aid to affected countries and northern Italy became the latest area to be inundated by torrential rain.

Just a week ago, before deadly floods swept through central Europe, the Czech Republic looked on track to become the first country in the region since COVID-19 to pull its budget deficit firmly below the 3% of GDP cap set by European Union rules.