By Luiza Ilie and Radovan Stoklasa VISNOVA, Czech Republic (Reuters) -At least four people died and thousands of homes were damaged by flooding in eastern Romania on Saturday, officials said, as surging river levels put authorities on alert in much of central and eastern Europe following days of torrential rain.

A low-pressure system named 'Boris' caused the worst flooding in more than two decades from Romania to Poland over the past week, and also affected Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. Seven people were killed each in Poland and Romania,

Based on estimates from local officials, the damage to infrastructure could reach a combined $10 billion in these two countries alone. Poland's finance minister said the $5.6 billion allotted from EU funds would cover some, but not all of the costs to recover from the floods.

Exceptionally heavy rainfall has been pounding Central Europe and has prompted deadly flooding in the region, with four new deaths reported in Poland, three in Czech Republic and one in Romania

At least 17 people have been killed in some of the worst floods to hit central Europe in decades as Storm Boris sweeps through the region, dumping well over a month’s worth of rain.

Central Europe is experiencing the worst floods in at least two decades, with a trail of destruction from Romania to Poland and and the deaths of at least 23 people so far.

By David W Cerny, Radovan Stoklasa and Janis Laizans JESENIK/LITOVEL, Czech Republic (Reuters) - Residents of several areas of Poland and the Czech Republic rushed to evacuate on Monday as others in central Europe began cleaning up after the worst flooding in over two decades left a trail of destruction and a rising number of deaths.