The European floods

German dam breaks near Magdeburg as Hungary floods recede

A dam has broken on the flood-swollen River Elbe in eastern Germany, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes around the city of Magdeburg.

BBC,

9 June 2013 Last updated at 18:53 GMT

Water levels in Magdeburg stood at 7.44m (24ft) on Sunday, nearly four times higher than normal (2m).

In Hungary, water levels on the Danube are expected to peak on Sunday after the worst floods in more than a decade.

At least 15 people have died in the floods in Central Europe, which will cost billions of euros to clean up.

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.

Sandbags

In the Hungarian capital Budapest, flood defences have been strengthened and appear to have held up.

Firefighters and volunteers in Nagymaros lay sandbags to keep the flood waters at bay

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,

Late on Friday, residents were moved out of their homes in the village of Gyorujfalu, near the city of Gyor, because a dyke weakened after a landslide.

No flood-related deaths have so far been reported in Hungary.

The river is forecast to peak at around 9m in Budapest late on Sunday. Flood barriers now stand at 9.50m.

In Magdeburg, more than 23,000 people left their homes as flooding increased and power was shut off.

Flood defences on the Elbe and the River Saale have been weakened by days of heavy rain.

Another dam is in danger, reports the regional broadcaster MDR, and more evacuations may have to take place.

German President Joachim Gauck visited the flood-stricken city of Halle, near Magdeburg, and paid tribute to the way its inhabitants had coped.

"It is fantastic to see how different people get together to help others. And you notice that many of them are exhausted, but they are happy and it seems to motivate them," Mr Gauck said.

The flood crest is expected to reach northern Germany in the coming days.

Europe floods: 'Budapest will survive'

German authorities urged 15,000 people to evacuate part of a city on the swollen Elbe river as central Europe faced its worst floods in a decade that have caused havoc in the Czech Republic and Austria and are threatening Hungary.

NZ Herald,

10 June, 2013

A torrent of flood waters in Germany has turned vast areas into a brown water world, sparked a mass mobilisation of troops, firefighters and volunteers and caused billions of euros in property damage in what one lawmaker termed a "national catastrophe''.

In the city of Magdeburg, authorities urged residents to clear out of the eastern bank of the river, where an almost 7.5 metre peak - up from the normal level of two metres _ was expected to strain saturated dykes for the next few days.

"We hope that the dykes will withstand the pressure over the coming days, but we can't be 100 percent sure,'' said fire brigade spokesman Andreas Hamann, one of 1,200 emergency staff working around the clock in the area.

The move was described as a precaution, but a city spokesman said "people really are supposed to leave'' in face of the danger.

Across central Europe, the floods have killed at least 18 people, including 10 in the Czech Republic.

The 15,000 who were told to flee raised the total number of evacuations this weekend in and around Magdeburg to 23,500, said the crisis centre of the interior ministry of Saxony-Anhalt state.

Vast areas around 1,200-year-old Magdeburg were covered in a sea of muddy water sparked by torrential rains which have washed down the Elbe river system from the Czech Republic, where many villages were left flooded and isolated last week.

The water level in Magdeburg was higher than during "once-a-century'' floods of 2002, local authorities said.

Regional rains have also severely swollen the Danube, hitting southern Germany, where residents in Passau have in past days returned to wrecked homes to clear out mud-caked furniture and debris.

The deluge has sparked massive emergency responses downriver in Austria, Slovakia and in Hungary, where flood defences held firm on Sunday as waters reached a new record in Budapest.

The mayor sought to ease concerns, saying water levels were stabilising, although about 1,200 people have been evacuated along the river.

"Budapest is not at risk of a catastrophe, the level is not expected to rise significantly,'' Mayor Istvan Tarlos said, adding that city authorities had been able to fix leaking dykes.

"Of course anything can happen, but we have every reason to believe that Budapest will survive its biggest flood of all time,'' said Imre Pesti, head of the city's defence team.

Authorities said Budapest flood barriers are high enough to protect the capital, where the river was forecast to peak at 8.95 metres later today.

In Germany, President Joachim Gauck visited flood-hit areas, where in vast areas only roofs and tree tops stick out of the water and the only access is by boat or helicopter.

"One cannot imagine how much remains to be dealt with,'' he said.

Adding to tensions was a threat to attack dykes from a group calling itself the "Germanophic Flood Brigade''. Aerial and ground surveillance had been stepped up, said Saxony Anhalt state interior minister Holger Stahlknecht.

Ironically, the sun was shining above Germany's flood zone, forcing the thousands packing sandbags and helping evacuees to seek supplies of sun block and insect repellent.

However, more rains were expected by Monday in Thuringia, Saxony and Bavaria, with as much as 50 litres per square metre expected within a few hours.

More townships were evacuated, including the Elbe towns of Barby, Lauenburg and Hitzacker, while relief workers kept piling up sandbags and deliberately opened some dams to flood fields and relieve the river pressure.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was planning a crisis meeting with state premiers on how to share the bill for the disaster _ estimated to hit tens of billions of euros - the Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper reported.

"We're dealing with a national catastrophe,'' Gerda Hasselfeldt, lawmaker for the conservative Christian Social Union, was quoted saying.

Despite the widespread damage, growth in Europe's biggest economy was unlikely to suffer much as a result, said a survey of leading economists by the Welt daily.

"Absurdly, economies actually pick up after natural disasters because the property damage needs to be repaired,'' Deutsche Bank chief strategist Thomas Mayer said.