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Flood is one of the most severe calamities in Poland. It causes great material and human losses. It destroys not only goods but also nature. In Poland we differentiate the following kinds of floods: thaw, ice-jam, rainfall and storm ones. The protection against floods includes two groups of measures: technical and organisational - economic ones. The technical protection measures (described thoroughly in the article) embrace: retention adaptation of the river-basin; building storage reservoirs; river regulation, canal building and mountains streams, creeks and their reception basins development; building protection damps and polders; measures of coastal flood protection; other measures (signalling, forecasting, ice breaking and others). In the flood threat time and during the flood it is extremely important to inform and alarm people, to conduct observation and reconnaissance, to carry on evacuation and rescue operations in a broad range. Civil defence formations, the State Fire Department, police, armed forces, the Ministry of the Interior forces, Boarder Guard, health service, civilian people take part in the rescue operations during a flood. The scope of their actions is defined in the Council of Ministers decree of 28 September 1993 concerning civil defence. The evaluation of these tasks can be conducted basing on the July 1997 flood which appeared on the territory of our country.