PASSAU, Germany — Swollen rivers gushed into the old section of Passau in southeast Germany on Monday, as water rose in the city to levels not seen in more than five centuries.
The city was one of the worst hit by flooding that has spread across a large area of central Europe following heavy rainfall in recent days. At least eight people were reported to have died and nine were missing due to floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
“The situation is extremely dramatic,” Herbert Zillinger, a spokesman for Passau’s crisis centre, told The Associated Press.
AP Photo/Matthias SchraderPeople stand in the flooded centre of Passau, southern Germany, Monday, June 3, 2013. Raging waters from three rivers have flooded large parts of the southeast German city following days of heavy rainfall in central Europe. A spokesman for the cityís crisis center said Monday that the situation was ìextremely dramaticî and waters are expected to rise further by midday to their level highest in 70 years
Much of the city was inaccessible on foot and the electricity supply was shut down as a precaution, he said. Rescuers were using boats to evacuate residents from flooded parts of the city. Authorities in the afternoon evacuated a prison that was in danger of being flooded, moving 60 inmates to two other nearby facilities on higher ground.
But with water from the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers relentlessly pouring into the city, water was advancing into previously dry streets — in one case going from dry to ankle-deep within half an hour. Markers set in 1954, when the city suffered its worst flooding in living memory, have disappeared beneath the rising water.
Lennart Preiss/Getty ImagesA soldier lets the water run out of his shoe in the historic city center on June 3, 2013 in Passau, Germany. Heavy rains are pounding southern and eastern Germany, causing wide-spread flooding and ruining crops. At least two people are missing and feared dead in what is evolving into the most serious flood levels since the so-called 100-year flood of 2002. Portions of Austria and the Czech Republic are also inundated.
The German news agency dpa said the water levels were the highest recorded since 1501 in Passau, a city that dates from before Roman times.
The German army said it has sent 1,760 soldiers to help local authorities and volunteers reinforce flood defences, particularly in the south and east of the country. Chancellor Angela Merkel planned to visit flood-hit areas Tuesday, her spokesman said.
Elsewhere, authorities in the Czech Republic said more than 7,000 people had to be evacuated as of Monday afternoon as the flood-swollen Vltava River continued to rise.
Lennart Preiss/Getty ImagesOnlookers watch the rising river Danube in the historic city center on June 3, 2013 in Passau, Germany. Heavy rains are pounding southern and eastern Germany, causing wide-spread flooding and ruining crops. At least two people are missing and feared dead in what is evolving into the most serious flood levels since the so-called 100-year flood of 2002. Portions of Austria and the Czech Republic are also inundated. (Photo by )
Those evacuated included residents of southern neighbourhoods in Prague and the town of Terezin also known as Theresienstadt, the former Jewish concentration camp during the Nazi WWII occupation, which is located north of the capital.
Prague’s central sewage treatment plant was shut down on Monday to prevent its damage by the high water. That means that the sewage from the capital goes directly to the river. The plant may be restarted Tuesday or Wednesday.
Interim Mayor Tomas Hudecek said animals from a zoo located by the river had been taken to safety. Parts of the city’s subway transportation network also were shut down because of flooding.
JAN MARCHAL/AFP/Getty ImagesAn aeral view shows the Prague Zoo under water on June 03, 2013 as the Czech capital was flooded, with metro stations and elementary and secondary schools shut after the Vltava river rose, flooding parts of the historic city centre due to heavy rainfalls.
The Charles Bridge — normally packed with tourists at this time of year — was closed to the public as were some other popular spots near the river at the foot of Prague Castle. Rescuers evacuated some 2,700 people across the western half of the country where the government declared a state of emergency in most regions.
Some had to leave their homes in the southern neighbourhoods of Prague, while further evacuations have been under way in the northern Czech Republic, awaiting a flood wave later Monday.
source: http://news.nationalpost.com