The flood taught me that I could cope

When the wave flooded the entire valley, destroying fields, houses and roads, Agnieszka had to become the leader of the emergency response in no time. She organised as many as six aid distribution points because, as she recalls, she had a lot of elderly people who could not walk through potholes in the road. She wrote down the needs of the residents, sent volunteers to specific places and made sure that support reach the most affected first.

‘We shared with the fire-fighters, I took one route and they took the other. We wrote down who was missing what: one needed volunteers to remove the plaster, the other some chemicals or disinfectants. Here, for example, there is no cooker, there, they need tracksuits,’ she says.  The flood showed neighbourly solidarity. ‘Someone would take a parcel and say: I’ll also take one for my neighbour, as she won’t come, she is ailing. The community was amazing – people were saving animals together. Mr Marek let the cows out of the pasture because he said they would come back anyway. And they did.’

Agnieszka’s house was also submerged. But it wasn’t until several months later that she found the time to take on a renovation team – sent by… the residents themselves, who told her to finally take care of herself. By October, she was sleeping for two to three hours at a time. ‘Sometimes in the fire station, sometimes in the community centre, sometimes I would fall asleep in a chair. Phones were ringing at 3.00 in the morning: We’ll be at your place in 40 minutes. So, we were taking a piece of paper, writing it down and moving on.’

When asked what she didn’t expect of herself before the flood, she answers without hesitation: ‘That despite little sleep and physical exhaustion… I can simply cope.’

Although many months have passed, normality has not yet returned. In the fields along the river only weeds grow between the stones instead of grass. Many residents still feel fear when it starts to rain heavier. And yet most can’t imagine living anywhere else. ‘I don’t know what keeps people here. Maybe it’s the view of the mountains, the sunsets… The fact that you can always stop someone and chat,’ the village head reflects.

This bond is symbolised by the chapel on Cierniak – 226 steps leading up to the hill, where a fair is held in August. ‘This is our magical place. We go there to ask and give thanks,’ says Agnieszka. And although life in the river valley carries risks, residents – like herself – prefer to take risks here rather than be elsewhere. They’re already thinking about how to protect themselves from the next flood. ‘As far as the Radochów is concerned, people have so few things in the houses that anything valuable can be simply grabbed,’ she says.

Agnieszka’s story is part of the exhibition “Water Mark. One Year After the Flood”, which will be on display at Plac Centralny in Warsaw from September 5 to October 4, 2025. The exhibition features photographs by Aleksander Małachowski (@hashtagalek) as well as photos from PAH’s archives, taken by Alicja Ryś. They show the places affected by the September 2024 flood, as well as the people who received support from PAH. The exhibition is also available HERE.

Do you like the photos from the exhibition? Donate any amount to photographer Aleksander Małachowski’s fundraiser and receive 6 photos selected by him! After making a donation, you will automatically receive an email with the photos ready to download.
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Download the Polish Humanitarian Action’s report on post-flood activities.
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