Europe floods: Hungary Danube set for record high

ORIGINAL: BBC

7 June 2013

The Danube is set to hit a record high in Budapest in the next few days

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Hungarians have been warned to prepare for their country's worst floods ever as the Danube is set to reach record levels this weekend.

"We are facing the worst floods of all time," said PM Viktor Orban.

Europe's second longest river is set to hit unprecedented levels in the capital Budapest in the next few days.

A state of emergency has been declared, and thousands of volunteers worked overnight to reinforce the banks of the swelling river.

Water levels are set to reach reach 8.85m (29ft), some 25cm (10in) higher than the Danube's previous record high in 2006.

Emergency workers have set up camps along the river as residents packed sandbags around their homes amid an atmosphere of concerned expectation, says the BBC's Nick Thorpe in Budapest.

Kristalina Georgieva, the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, tweeted: "Hungary well prepared for highest ever measured water levels on Danube. We are monitoring & ready to assist."

Mass evacuations Mr Orban, who spent the night at a military barracks in the flooded western city of Gyor, said recent dry weather in Austria and Germany, as well as a hot forecast for Hungary over the weekend, gave reason to hope that Europe's worst river floods for more than a decade could soon be over.

The Danube peaked on Thursday in the Slovak capital Bratislava, where the main flood defences held firm.

In northern Germany, workers piled sandbags along the banks of the River Elbe as waters rose, after widespread flooding further south.

As flood waters receded to the south and east, defence work continued apace near Lueneburg in Lower Saxony.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from at-risk areas in Germany, where the flooding is worse than that recorded in 2002.

On Thursday the Elbe flooded parts of Dresden as it peaked nearly 7m (22 feet) above its normal level, but the city's historic centre remained unscathed.

Upstream along the Elbe in the Czech Republic, emergency workers used boats to shuttle supplies to stranded people as large areas remained under water.

Widespread flooding in central Europe has inundated swathes of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, killing at least 15 people.

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Aerial view of flooded Czech village Kresice, north of Prague, on 4 June 2013

• Rising river waters caused by days of torrential rain continue to cause havoc to bankside cities and towns across central Europe.
• Cities in the south and east of Germany - such as here in Pirna - are on high alert as rivers, including the Elbe, continue to swell.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel toured the affected area on Tuesday and pledged 100m euros (£78m; $130m) in emergency aid.
• Flood waters in the Bavarian town of Passau on Monday reached levels not seen since the 16th Century.
• The waters in Passau have now begun to recede - offering a glimpse of the major clean-up operation ahead for all the affected areas.
• A nationwide state of alert remains in place in the Czech Republic. Towns and cities close to Germany are still at great risk as floodwaters move north.
• Falling river levels in the Czech capital Prague may have reduced the threat to the city's historic buildings, but not everywhere has been so lucky. The zoo, seen here, was flooded and its animals had to be moved to higher ground.
• People in Austria are also watching anxiously - hoping their mobile flood defences will hold back the swell of the River Danube.

Rising river waters caused by days of torrential rain continue to cause havoc to bankside cities and towns across central Europe.

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