Floods in Central Europe June 2013

When a flood hits, it usually hits fast. There were warning signs over the weekend of possible further (and bigger) floods in Germany. I reported on May 31st of the flooding in various states in Germany, including Bavaria. There had already been one reported death due to flooding, near Hanover.

Since then, massive flooding has hit Germany once more, and has since spread to include neighboring countries of Austria and Czech Republic. There are also fears for other central European countries including Poland, where one death has already been reported, Slovakia and Hungary. The Danube river in particular has very high levels, and any towns or cities further down river from Germany will need to be prepared. Budapest in Hungary, for example, stands directly on the River Danube.

Austria
Weather reports said Austria had seen 2 months’ of rain fall in 24 hours. There are reports of two people dead as a result of floods. The province of Salzburg has been badly flooded, and the Tyrol region was also badly hit by torrential rain, resulting in landslides there. Also badly hit was Taxenbach and other areas of the Pinzgau region.

Germany
The southern area is most badly hit, including the states of Bavaria and Saxony. People have been evacuated from their homes and the Germany army has been called in to help with evacuations and deploying flood defences. Particularly badly hit was the town of Passau in Bavaria, where, along with Rosenheim, a state of emergency was called. Passau is particularly vulnerable since it lies at the point where 3 major rivers meet: the Danube, the Inn and Ilz. River levels were reported to be at their highest since 1501. Also in Bavaria, the town of Grimma was reported as a disaster area. This is the town that suffered so badly in the 2002 floods. Munich’s River Isar had levels 5 metres higher than normal.

Other areas of Germany are still suffereing from floods, including cities in Thuringia and Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony, where river levels of the Mulde were worryingly high. In Eilenburg, Saxony, 7,000 people were evacuated from their homes and taken to emergency accommodation.

Czech Republic
Seven people have been reported dead as a result of the floods. Prague is under threat from floods and is on high alert, with flood defences being raised where possible, with help from the Czech military. The River Elbe in norther area of the country has extremely high levels, as does the River Vltava, which runs through Prague.

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