Central Europe braces as flood waters set to peak

By Alan Crosby

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Emergency crews aided by soldiers were
furiously working in much of central Europe on Monday to shore
up flood defenses, preparing for rising waters expected to peak
soon.

Rivers across the region have been swelling fast due to
melted snow and rain, forcing thousands to evacuate and
bringing businesses to a halt.

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 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) for the disaster.

“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.

Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said the cabinet is
expected on Wednesday to boost this year’s state budget by 5
billion crowns ($212 million) to pay for damages.

GERMANY ON ALERT

On Sunday evening, a dam burst on the March river, which
separates Austria from Slovakia, flooding the Austrian village
of Duernkrut, police said.

Roughly 200 people were evacuated from the village, of
which parts were submerged in 1 meter (3 feet) of water.

With the water flowing north, the River Elbe in Germany
rose further overnight, 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.

Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky asked the government to
declare an emergency in two stretches of the Danube in the
Hungarian capital after the river rose above 8.0 meters.

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany declined the
call, but has rushed from a Socialist rally to fill sandbags to
defend the city, which has strong defenses against flooding.

The Danube is expected to peak at around 8.60 meters on
Tuesday in Budapest, above the 2002 record level of 8.48.

Serbia and Romanian officials also said their countries
were on high alert as the Danube level rises.

(Additional reporting by Iain Rogers in Berlin, Krisztina
Than and Balazs Koranyi in Budapest, Alexandra Zawadil in
Vienna)