Analysis of natural and anthropogenic causes and effects of floods in Poland is presented in this paper. In general, the flood of 1997 showed that Poland needs, above all, long-term concept for the land development in the basins of the Oder and Vistula, effective legal regulations and development of the hydrotechnical infrastructure. The disastrous flood 1997 made it clear that social and economic losses would have been much smaller if Poland had had a modern measuring, preventing and warning systems, and also proper hydrotechnical edifices, and if the flood prevention infrastructure was in a good condition. It should also be stressed that more attention should be paid to research programmes to improve the system of flood prevention and reduction of damages. Activities undertaken so far with the aim to find the best protection measures and solutions for the flooded areas in Poland can be summered as follows: (i) recording of the effects of the flood; (ii) creation of the National Programme for the Reconstruction and Modernisation of the Flooded Areas, and (iii) undertaking interdisciplinary discussions (researchers, engineers, practitioners, etc.) to select the most urgent and necessary actions for future to avoid similar disasters.