Flood defences were being installed in Prague’s historic centre as forecasters warned of extreme rainfall across much of the country, including the capital.
Heavy rains have hit mainly eastern parts of the Czech Republic since yesterday, Thursday, with the worst-hit areas likely to receive more than a third of their annual rainfall in the four days to Sunday.
Similar weather conditions are expected in other areas of Central Europe, such as southern Germany and parts of Austria, Poland and Slovakia, in the coming days.
“The data shows that we are facing difficult days,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a televised briefing after a crisis committee meeting, adding that in some areas water levels could exceed a level that occurs once in 100 or more years. He added that authorities were taking all necessary measures to prevent material damage and protect residents.
Today, the heightened risk alert was extended to the central and southwestern regions, including Prague, where floods in 2002 forced authorities to evacuate tens of thousands of people, buildings collapsed and the capital’s metro network was flooded for months.
Prague, a city of 1.3 million people, has since invested heavily in flood defences and other measures to prevent a similar catastrophe.
They empty reservoirs so that water accumulates
Prague Mayor Bochuslav Svoboda told Czech TV that water levels in the city, which sits on the Vltava River, were expected to reach their highest level tomorrow evening. “We are working proactively and we believe that by starting anti-flood measures now, the situation of 2002 will not be repeated,” he said.
Water authorities have begun draining reservoirs at the Vltava dam outside Prague, as well as other rivers, to make room for the volume of water expected to accumulate.
The heaviest rains are expected in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country.
At the same time, Czech league football matches were cancelled across the country, while cultural events were canceled in some cities. Firefighters filled sandbags and put up flood defences in several cities.
In the southern Polish city of Wroclaw, planned outdoor cultural events were cancelled, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said emergency services would be ready to deal with local flooding.
The Morava River, which forms the borders between the Czech Republic and Slovakia and between Austria and Slovakia before flowing into the Danube, is at risk of overflowing and the Slovak government is looking for places to divert the water to unpopulated areas, Slovak Environment Minister Tomas Taraba said.