Germany has 60,000 local emergency personnel and aid workers, as well as 25,000 federal disaster responders and 16,000 soldiers now fighting the floods. Thanks to the huge efforts of these personnel and volunteers – some of them working through the night – it seems that the centre of Dresden has survived any threatened floods. So we can breath a sigh of relief that the historic landmark buildings of the city, such as the Frauenkirche and Semperoper (Opera house) are still intact. Dresden knows a thing or two about surviving.
But there are still many areas of the outer city areas under water, plus in further areas of Saxony (where Dresden is the capital). Some residents have no electricity or fresh water supply, and the transport network has been disrupted. A total of around 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the German state of Saxony, where Dresden is the capital.
There are now concerns for some towns and cities further down river from Dresden. The Elbe River in Saxony-Anhalt is expected to crest on 11 June. Levels in Tangermünde in Saxony-Anhalt still appear to be rising, for example, and currently stand at 7.08 as of 06:00 on 07/06/13. On 01/06/13 the level was just 4.74m
Elsewhere in Saxony-Anhalt, the evacuations in Bitterfeld and Halle continue. It is the Mulde River threatening Bitterfeld, and the Saale river that has threatened Halle, which reached its highest level in 400 years. 30,000 residents in the areas most at risk have been urged to evacuate. Halle’s total population is about 250,000. The river levels appeared to have peaked at 8.10 metres oat 06:00 on 05/06/13. The level now stands at 7.44 metres, as of 06:00 on 07/06/13.
Areas of Germany previously hit by floods, such as Passau in Bavaria, are still struggling to recover from the flood waters. The situation is stable in Bavaria, with no further rise in flood waters expected, although there are reports that some levees at Passau have been broken, bringing further chaos and despair for residents.
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