GERMANY: Towns along eastern Germany's Elbe river remain flooded while Czech Republic under threat till Friday

Record ID: 858283

  • Title: GERMANY: Towns along eastern Germany's Elbe river remain flooded while Czech Republic under threat till Friday
  • Date: 4th April 2006
  • Summary: PEOPLE IN STREET FILLING SANDBAGS
  • Embargoed: 19th April 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • City:
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVACHKD0S05F1H9V72WO6RQNTKI8
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: With the water flowing north, the River Elbe in Germany continued to rise on Tuesday (April 4), but not as quickly as had been feared.
    Hundreds of workers toiled around the clock checking dikes, building dams of sandbags and pumping water away.
    Authorities in the eastern state of Saxony, the worst affected region in Germany, expected the flood to reach its high point on Tuesday.
    Around 1,500 Saxony residents had been moved out, but the waters remained much lower than the catastrophic levels of 2002.
    In Meissen, north of the Saxon capital of Dresden, the Elbe levels were expected to rise further, experts said.
    Melting snow after an unusually harsh winter and recent heavy rain have contributed to the high water levels which on Tuesday stood at 8.88 metres on the German-Czech border near Schoena and at 7.49 metres in Dreden -- further down the Elbe river --, according to authorities.
    Normal water levels in Dresden are around 2 metres.
    Experts calculated water levels in Dresden to reach up to 7.7 metres later on Tuesday as volunteers, fire fighters and members of the government's technical support unit (THW) continued building walls of sandbags along riverbanks to try and keep the floods away.
    The Czech government declared a state of emergency in seven of its 14 regions, after seven flood-related deaths were reported. Over the weekend, more than 10,000 Czechs left their homes amid heavy rains.
    Unlike during floods in August 2002, the ancient capital of Prague has been spared any serious damage, though it remains on high alert.
    Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said he fears the situation may worsen, but the government has already pledged 380 million crowns (16.1 million U.S. dollars) for relief.
    "But if that sum is not enough, we will seek alternative resources. I think that we will also turn to the European Union," Paroubek said.
    Levels of most swollen rivers in the were subsiding but the threat of flooding would continue until at least Friday as meteorologists were forecasting more intense rain.
    For the first time in a week the Elbe river started to subside in Usti nad Labem. However approximately 1500 people who were forced to leave their homes were still unable to return.
    The situation in southern Moravia was gradually calming down with the most problematic area is at the Nove Mlyny reservoir in the vicinity of Breclav.
    The Morava river in Olomouc, north Moravia, continued to subside just as the Luznice and Nezarka rivers in South Bohemia that have flooded hundreds of houses.
    Prague City Hall may start to dismantle the mobile barriers put up to protect the city from the Vltava River waters if the situation continues to develop favourably.
    Emergency crews aided by soldiers have been furiously working in much of central Europe to shore up flood defences, preparing for rising waters expected to peak soon.
    Rivers across the region have been swelling fast due to melted snow from late winter snowstorms and heavy rain, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes and bringing businesses to a halt.
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