HUNGARY: THE RIVER DANUBE HAS BEGUN TO FLOOD THE COUNTRY WHERE WATER LEVELS BROKE ALL-TIME RECORDS

Record ID: 377079

  • Title: HUNGARY: THE RIVER DANUBE HAS BEGUN TO FLOOD THE COUNTRY WHERE WATER LEVELS BROKE ALL-TIME RECORDS
  • Date: 18th August 2002
  • Summary: (W5) BUDAPEST AND AERIALS OF NORTHERN HUNGARY (AUGUST 17, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. SLV FLOODED DANUBE WITH PANORAMA OF BUDAPEST; SLV SUBMERGED ROADS SIGNS (2 SHOTS) 0.14 2. SLV SAND BAGGING IN CENTRAL BUDAPEST (3 SHOTS) 0.39 3. AERIAL OF BUDAPEST WITH BRIDGES AND SWOLLEN DANUBE; AERIAL FLOODED AREAS IN NORTHERN HUNGARY WITH HOUSES IN WATER (2 SH
  • Embargoed: 2nd September 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BUDAPEST AND AERIALS OVER NORTHERN HUNGARY
  • Country: Hungary
  • Reuters ID: LVAD109LD6FV0GUB6TDBU8Z0KU9B
  • Story Text: The Danube has begun to flood Hungary, where water
    levels broke all-time records on the upper section of the
    river, Europe's largest inland shipping route.

    Hungarian officials hoped Budapest's 10-metre defences
    would be high enough to prevent flooding in Budapest.

    The rising Danube reached a level above eight metres
    in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Saturday (August 17, 2002)
    morning but defences, which have been built to sustain flood
    waters up to a height of 10 metres, are currently withstanding
    the increased water pressure.

    The water level was peaking at around 8.80 metres at the
    village of Nagybajcs on the upper section of the river on
    Saturday morning, almost a metre higher than the 7.84 metre
    level measured in the floods of 1954.

    "If I had only seen what I have seen from above I would be
    worried, because there is a lot of water coming down with
    great force. But I have also seen that preparations are
    intense and that a lot of people are working and that
    is promising", Minister of Environment Maria Korodi
    said after she had got off the aeroplane in which she
    had surveyed the flooded area between Austrian and
    Slovakian border and Budapest.

    "We have to build strong defences in Budapest but I think
    the flood will subside, given time", she added.

    A spokesman for the National Water Authorities said
    earlier on Saturday that flood water was expected reach
    Budapest on Sunday or Monday with the river peaking at around
    8.75 metres.

    The highest water level in Budapest was 8.45 metre reached
    during the last major flooding in 1965.

    There are currently 13,500 flood workers, soldiers and
    local residents strengthening defences along the upper section
    of the river between the border and the capital city.

    Houses and summer homes built in the flood plains are the
    most exposed to flooding. So far, some 1,300 people have been
    evacuated from these areas as a preventive measure.

    In Budapest, embankment roads stood underwater, causing
    traffic jams. A tram line and suburban train line which runs
    along the riverside have also been partially closed.


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