Budapest braces for Danube flooding
Source: Agencies |
June 8, 2013, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE crest of the flood-swollen Danube River surged toward the Hungarian capital of Budapest yesterday, while communities along the Elbe in Germany braced for high water as the river churned toward the North Sea.
Elsewhere in central Europe, communities were beginning to count the cost of devastating floods that have hit Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
At least 19 people have died over the past week, and experts say the economic damage in Germany alone could top 11 billion euros (US$14.59 billion).
The Danube's crest left Austria yesterday and entered Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that water levels were above all-time highs.
"It is now certain that we must face the largest-ever flood on the Danube, so we must be prepared for the worst," Orban said in the city of Gyor, on the Danube.
The Danube crest was expected to reach Budapest on Monday, and Mayor Istvan Tarlos said in a worst-case scenario up to 55,000 people may need to be evacuated. But he was confident only the lowest-lying areas of the city would be exposed to the Danube's expanded flow.
Tarlos said the Danube was expected to rise to around 8.95 meters in the downtown area, while the walls along the river and temporary defenses would be able to keep out waters rising to as much as 9.3 meters.
Farther upstream in Hungary, about 900 people had to leave their homes due to the flood.
In neighboring Slovakia, the situation was critical in the border city of Komarno where the Danube was still rising and was expected to do so till today. Rescuers, soldiers and volunteers have been filling sand bags to reinforce protective barriers.
In the Czech Republic, the government's central crisis committee ordered local authorities to leave all flood protection measures in place because meteorologists have forecast the chance of heavy rain in the next few days and the situation might get worse again.
In Germany, meanwhile, water levels were stabilizing in the south and east, even as the crest of the Elbe rolled northward.
Elsewhere in central Europe, communities were beginning to count the cost of devastating floods that have hit Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
At least 19 people have died over the past week, and experts say the economic damage in Germany alone could top 11 billion euros (US$14.59 billion).
The Danube's crest left Austria yesterday and entered Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that water levels were above all-time highs.
"It is now certain that we must face the largest-ever flood on the Danube, so we must be prepared for the worst," Orban said in the city of Gyor, on the Danube.
The Danube crest was expected to reach Budapest on Monday, and Mayor Istvan Tarlos said in a worst-case scenario up to 55,000 people may need to be evacuated. But he was confident only the lowest-lying areas of the city would be exposed to the Danube's expanded flow.
Tarlos said the Danube was expected to rise to around 8.95 meters in the downtown area, while the walls along the river and temporary defenses would be able to keep out waters rising to as much as 9.3 meters.
Farther upstream in Hungary, about 900 people had to leave their homes due to the flood.
In neighboring Slovakia, the situation was critical in the border city of Komarno where the Danube was still rising and was expected to do so till today. Rescuers, soldiers and volunteers have been filling sand bags to reinforce protective barriers.
In the Czech Republic, the government's central crisis committee ordered local authorities to leave all flood protection measures in place because meteorologists have forecast the chance of heavy rain in the next few days and the situation might get worse again.
In Germany, meanwhile, water levels were stabilizing in the south and east, even as the crest of the Elbe rolled northward.
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