The pledge by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to make up to €10bn of recovery funds available for the deadly European floods this week followed estimates that insurers would face up to €3bn in claims.

The near-stationary low-pressure system given the name Storm Boris became stuck between two high-pressure systems, generating incessant rainfall across central Europe for several days, resulting in more than two dozen estimated deaths across 20 countries.

Thousands of homes and businesses, along with vehicles, infrastructure, and agriculture, were inundated across Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Romania. Authorities warned that waters could continue to flow through cities in the coming days. The storm moved to northern Italy by the end of the week, causing residents of the Emilia-Romagna region to be evacuated.