BBC.co.uk
Thousands flee flood-hit parts of Germany and Hungary
10 June 2013
Last updated at 14:40 GMT
Some 23,000 people were
forced to leave their homes in the east German city of Magdeburg after a
dam burst on the flood-swollen River Elbe.
Although water levels in Magdeburg were reported to be
receding on Monday, the city and areas of the country further north
remain on high alert.
In Hungary, 1,200 people had to leave their homes but flood defences in the capital Budapest appeared to have held.
At least 19 people have died in the floods in Central Europe.
Ten victims from the Czech Republic and five from Austria
died after rivers rose to dangerous levels in both countries last week.
Analysts say the damage will cost billions of euros to clean up.
Meanwhile, parts of Poland's capital Warsaw were flooded on Sunday after hours of heavy rain.
One of the city's busiest motorways was inundated, and firefighters had to help stranded drivers to safety.
Sandbags
Flood defences in Budapest appeared to have held on Monday as
waters from the Danube River started to recede, having reached an
historic peak of 8.91m (29 ft) on Sunday.
"We have no reports of any catastrophic situation, the situation is normalising," Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos said on Monday.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the capital
"should be out of danger by Wednesday", but warned that the focus of
defence efforts was now in the south of the country.
Along more than 700km (470 miles) of the River Danube,
thousands of people, including many volunteers and even convicts from
the prisons, worked to reinforce earth and sandbag barriers.
More than 1,200 people have been evacuated from their homes, although no flood-related deaths have yet been reported in Hungary.
In Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt state, flood waters
rose to 7.44m (24ft), nearly four times higher than normal (2m) -
forcing some 10% of the population, 23,000, to leave their homes.
Around 700 soldiers worked to build a dam of sandbags around a
power sub-station in the badly-hit area of Rothensee in a bid to keep
the power on.
The Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that flood water
levels had fallen slightly in Magdeburg itself on Monday, but the
situation remains critical.
"We hope that the dykes will withstand the pressure over the
coming days, but we can't be 100% sure," said a fire brigade spokesman,
Andreas Hamann.
But other parts of Saxony-Anhalt and neighbouring Brandenburg
state remain under threat as the flood crest moves north, testing flood
defences already weakened by days of heavy rain.
A dyke at Fischbeck, west of Berlin, was breached overnight leading to the evacuation of nearby villages.
A railway bridge on the line between Berlin and Cologne,
Frankfurt and Amsterdam had to be closed, leading to significant delays
or cancellations for train travellers.
The authorities in Germany are investigating an anonymous letter threatening attacks on several dams.
The motive behind the threats is not known, but the threat is being taken seriously, says the BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is planning a crisis meeting with
leaders of Germany's regions on how to share the bill for the disaster,
the Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper reported.
"We're dealing with a national catastrophe," Gerda
Hasselfeldt, an MP with Mrs Merkel's Christian Social Union (CSU), was
quoted as saying.
Pedestrian crossing signs were rendered redundant in Budapest as flood waters continued to rise
June 5, 2013
The Danube River
reached its highest level in 500 years. The Elbe, Rhine, and other
rivers and tributaries are cresting high as well as swathes of central
Europe lie inundated by floodwaters that have killed 12 and displaced
tens of thousands. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech
Republic have been severely affected, as Hungary prepares for the swell
of water. Gathered here are images of the flooding and people affected
in the last several days. -- Lane Turner (49 photos total)
The
river Rhine floods Mainz, Germany on June 2, 2013 (picture taken with
an underwater camera). (Fredrik Von Erichsen/AFP/Getty Images)
Several
hundred helpers transport sandbags along the dam of the river Gera near
Walschleben,Germany on June 1, 2013. (Jens Meyer/Associated Press) #
Rescue
workers help local residents evacuate from their flooded houses in
Grimma, Germany on June 3, 2013. (Jan Woitas/AFP/Getty Images)
#
Firemen try to save a chicken near Schaerding, Austria on June 3, 2013. (Manfred Fesl/EPA)
#
Two
women are rescued from their home in Passau, Germany on June 3, 2013.
The level of the river Danube rose past the historic record flood level
of 1954 at 12.20 meters and is forecast to rise further. (Andreas
Gebert/ EPA)
#
People watch the waters of the river Rhine near Moehlin, Switzerland on June 1, 2013. (Walter Bieri/EPA)
#
An
emergency shelter is set up for flood victims in a gymnasium in
Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany on June 4, 2013. Around 10,000 people had to
leave their houses because of flooding in Bitterfeld. (Jan Woitas/EPA)
#
Floodwaters inundate a cellar in a home in Rosenheim, Germany on June 4, 2013. (Peter Kneffel/AFP/Getty Images)
#
Kresice, Czech Republic lies submerged on June 4, 2013. (Petr Josek/Reuters)
#
A
man carries a woman after flood waters overflowed the banks of the
White Elster River in Gera, Germany on June 3, 2013. (Marc Tirl/EPA)
#
Flooding surrounds Melk, Austria on June 3, 1013. (Roland Schlager/EPA)
#
People walk along a flooded street in Kritzendorf, Austria on June 3, 2013. (Herbert P. Oczeret/EPA)
#
The
tourist boat "Donau" (Danube) is seen on the flooded river Danube in
the three-rivers city of Passau, Germany on June 4, 2013. (Wolfgang
Rattay/Reuters)
#
Two
men in a boat cross the flooded marketplace of Wehlen, Germany at the
river Elbe on June 4, 2013. (Markus Schreiber/Associated Press)
#
A
young man paddles his inflatable mattress through the flooded streets
on June 3, 2013 in Passau, Germany. (Lennart Preiss/Getty Images)
#
Floods surround the historic old town of Passau, Germany on June 3, 2013. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/EPA)
#
Officials pause near a flood protection wall in Krems, Austria on June 4, 2013. (Helmut Fohringer/EPA)
#
A pedestrian crosses a flooded street in St. Goarshausen, Germany on June 4, 2013. (Thomas Frey/EPA)
#
The cleanup is underway in the Arnhold household after flooding in Grimma,Germany on June 4, 2013. (Hendrik Schmidt)
#
Firefighter Robby Klaus drives a rescue boat on June 3, 2013 in Grimma, Germany. (Jens Schlueter/Getty Images)
#
A display dummy floats in the flooded center of Grimma, Germany on June 3, 2013. (Jens Schlueter/Getty Images)
#
A rescue worker ropes down a police helicopter on June 3, 2013 in Passau, Germany. (Lennart Preiss/Getty Images)
#
A
man displaced from near the Vltava river listens to news in Prague's
Holesovice district on June 3, 2013. (Petr Josek/Reuters)
#
German
Bundeswehr soldiers patrol the flooded areas of the Bavarian town of
Passau, Germany on June 4, 2013. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
#
A wine glass rests in the mud in the 'Theatercafe - Aquarium' in Passau, Germany on June 4, 2013. (Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
#
Firemen pump water from a submerged field near Melnik, Czech Republic on June 4, 2013. (Petr Josek/Reuters)
#
A
worker inspects the heavily damaged road between Lofer and Waidring in
the Austrian province of Tyrol on June 3, 2013. (Kerstin
Joensson/Associated Press)
#
Residents of flooded areas in Gera, Germany are evacuated on June 3, 2013. (Marc Tirl/AFP/Getty Images)
Animals
at the Prague zoo watch their habitat flooded by the Vltava River on
June 4, 2013 in Prague. (Samuel Kubani/AFP/Getty Images)
Snails cling to a walkway on June 4, 2013 in Putim, Czech Republic. (Radek Mica/AFP/Getty Images)
#
A dog looks out from a doorstep at a flooded street on June 4, 2013 in Pirna, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
#
Exotic
animal breeder Jiri Kozak transports his animals (snakes, turtles,
peacocks, kangaroos, gerbils) to safety on June 4, 2013 in Putim, Czech
Republic. (Radek Mica/AFP/Getty Images)
#
A cat tries to escape the river Vltava in Kly, Czech Republic on June 4, 2013. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images)
#
A women crosses a makeshift bridge in Unterloiben, Austria on June 4, 2013. (Dieter Nagl/AFP/Getty Images)
#
Residents and workers of the city of Greiz, Germany clean streets on June 4, 2013. (Marc Tirl/AFP/Getty Images)
#
Residential
buildings stand submerged in the floodwaters of the river Danube in
Straubing, Germany on June 5, 2013. (Armin Weigel/EPA)
#
An
overturned street lamp holds water after flooding along the River Inn
in Schaerding, Austria on June 5, 2013. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
#
Vehicles
are stranded on the flooded A3 motorway near Deggendorf, Germany on
June 5, 2013 after one of Europe's most frequented highways was flooded
by the nearby river Danube. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
#
Residents
pile sand bags to enforce a dam against the river Danube in Mecser,
Hungary on June 5, 2013. Hungary is preparing to face its worst flooding
in 50 years. (Ferenc Isza/AFP/Getty Images)
#
Damaged belongings lie outside houses following flooding in Kossen, Germany on June 4, 2013. (Pierre Teyssot/AFP/Getty Images)
#
A
dead fish lies in a muddy street of Meissen, Germany on June 9, 2013.
Thousands were evacuated from eastern Germany where the Elbe river burst
through a dam. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa/Associated Press)
#
A firefighter checks a water pump in Decin, Czech Republic on June 5, 2013. (David W Cerny/Reuters)
#
A man inspects a sandbag wall near the river Elbe in Schoenebeck, Germany on June 9, 2013. (Tobias Schwarz/Reuters)
#
The waters of the Elbe river encroach on a swimming pool near Magdeburg, Germany on June 10, 2013. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
#
A man walks in a flooded street in Meissen, Germany on June 9, 2013. (Kay Nietfeld/EPA)
#
A
family canoe past the A3 Autobahn near the swollen Danube River on June
7, 2013 in Deggendorf, Germany. (Joerg Koch/Getty Images)
#
The
cockpit of a brand new Jaguar F-Type convertible is covered with a film
of mud after the floods of the Danube River subsided in Fischerdorf,
Germany on June 9, 2013. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
#
A
helper pulls out a destroyed BMW Isetta while the homeowner looks over
the damages in his garage ruined by recent flooding from the nearby
Danube River on June 10, 2013 in Deggendorf, Germany. (Joerg Koch/Getty
Images)
#
Residents
evacuated from flooded communities on the Elbe and Saale rivers shelter
in Eggersdorf, Germany on June 8, 2013. (Jens Wolf/AFP/Getty Images)
#
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