At least 21 people have died as record floods from Storm Boris ravage central and Eastern Europe. And Italy may be next to be hit.

There are reports of several river cruises being impacted, and there are warnings in force along some 500 km’s of the Danube River, one of the most travelled routes for river cruises.

Avalon Waterways tells Open Jaw it has cancelled two future Danube cruises and is making major changes to two existing trips.

“Heavy rainfall in areas of central Europe have caused flooding,” a spokesperson said. “And now, those floods are affecting portions of the Danube River. While we do everything we can to create contingency plans that offer Avalon guests incredible experiences, when Mother Nature intervenes with record rainfall in a short period of time, it becomes increasingly difficult to deliver an elevated cruising experience.

“For this situation, there are two Avalon Danube cruises that have been disrupted, causing significant itinerary changes and two future cruises that will be cancelled.  We are communicating changes, plans, options and refunds with guests – and travel advisors – directly.”

“We are closely monitoring the situation and adjusting our trips based on local conditions,” said a spokesperson for Intrepid Travel. “All our travelers and staff in these areas are safe, with the adverse weather and flooding having only a minimal impact on our trips currently in the region. In Austria, where necessary, groups have been rerouted to avoid transport disruption, while in Czechia, Slovenia and south-east Germany minor changes have been made to itineraries.

Riviera Cruises told Travel Market Report that “a small number of Riviera’s scheduled itineraries” have been affected.

Inews.com reports that more than 100 passengers and 40 crew remain stuck for a second day on Swiss river cruise ship Thurgau Prestige. The vessel was scheduled to sail from Linz to Budapest and back but is now stopping in Vienna.

With the risk of flooding continuing later this week, reports say Budapest is closing roads along the Danube, which runs through the middle of the city.

The Guardian said seven people have died in Romania, six in Poland, five in Austria and three in the Czech Republic, with several missing. The rain was easing in some areas but water levels in others were not expected to peak for several days.

The BBC on17SEP said the storm is expected to hit Italy hard in the coming days.

Record heat ahead of Storm Boris, and moisture-laden air being drawn in from above a “warmer than normal” Mediterranean, clashed with much cooler air trying to work in from the north which helped to make the storm even worse, the BBC said. That resulted in record rainfall across a large area. In the Czech Republic, up to 500mm of rain fell in just five days. For some places, it’s nearly 10 times the normal rainfall for the entire month of September

Al Jazeera quoted authorities as saying it’s the worst flooding they’ve seen in 20 years.

Border areas between the Czech Republic and Poland were especially hit hard over the weekend, with surging water levels leading to collapsed bridges and damaged cars and houses, the network said.

Travel and Tour World said flooding has caused “widespread chaos” in lower Austria and Vienna. “Roads have been rendered impassable, and public transport has been severely disrupted, with services canceled or delayed.”

Time Out reports that the region surrounding Vienna has been declared a disaster zone.

There also were reports that parts of historic, downtown Bratislava were flooded.