Bavaria and Saxony are readying themselves for impending floods.
The gravity of the situation is undeniable. Catastrophic floods are wreaking havoc and causing power outages in the Czech Republic, leading to the evacuation of two villages in Poland. Bavaria and Saxony are bracing themselves for the worst, with Austria anticipating flooding on the Danube similar to that seen 30 years ago.
Passau, in Bavaria, is expected to see closures in its old town later tonight, as announced by the city. Emergency response teams are currently making necessary preparations and constructing sandbag barriers. As per the Bavarian Flood Information Service, the Danube level in Passau was 6.35 meters at 9 am this morning, but dropped to just under 5 meters by Thursday evening. Despite most of Bavaria's weekend rainfall having already occurred, the effects on the rivers will only manifest hours or days later.
The Inn river level at Marienbrücke stood at 4.30 meters this morning, having dropped from around 2.50 meters on Thursday evening. In Passau, the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers converge. The peak levels are anticipated on Sunday around 7 am, with expected Danube levels of 7.89 meters in Passau and 5.48 meters for the Inn at Marienbrücke. This would nearly exceed alert stage 3, potentially leading to flooding of built-up areas or flooded basements.
East Saxony is also preparing for flooding, with alarm stage 1 potentially being reached as early as this evening at the Pegel Schöna, the lowest of four warning stages. For Dresden, this is expected by Sunday morning, as reported by the Saxon State Flood Centre in a warning message. The highest water levels on the Saxon Elbe gauges are anticipated from Wednesday and Thursday of the following week.
"Time is ticking"
Given this timeline, urgent actions are being taken in the demolition of the collapsed part of the Dresden Carolabridge. "Time is ticking," stated fire department spokesman Michael Klahre on Friday evening. By Sunday, alarm stage 1 will be reached in Dresden. By Wednesday, stage 3 could be reached, with the Elbe's water level potentially rising to six to seven meters, while normal levels are just two meters.
Round-the-clock efforts are currently underway to clear the debris, aiming to clear the entire area of bridge section C, except for the section that collapsed into the river early on Wednesday morning, to prevent further damage from the impending flood. The estimated completion time is Sunday evening.
Flooding poses a risk in that area due to the heavy rain. The Elbe's swelling is a result of heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of the Elbe and Moldau in the Czech Republic.
Heavy rain in the Czech Republic
In Poland and the Czech Republic, Germany's eastern neighbors, flooding has already occurred following prolonged rain overnight. Approximately 20 rivers and streams have been issued the third flood alarm stage "Threatened", as reported by the news agency CTK. Elsewhere, sudden heavy rain has resulted in flooding. Czech television published 10 videos from Mikulovice near the Polish border, showcasing floodwaters overwhelming houses, garages, and streets early in the morning. "The water flowed down from the surrounding fields into the village," it was reported. Despite the fire department's offer of shelter in the local gym, no residents have taken up the offer so far.
60,000 households in the Czech Republic are currently without power, as reported by the CTK news agency in collaboration with energy providers. The administrative region around Ústí nad Labem (Aussig an der Elbe) in the northwest of the country, near the border with Saxony, is the most affected, with over 20,000 households temporarily without electricity. Storm damage, including falling trees onto power lines, has been cited as the cause. Rail traffic has also been disrupted, with trees blocking several lines.
Since Friday evening, firefighters in South Bohemian Budweis (České Budějovice) have been building flood defenses, loading sandbags at the Maltsch River and erecting a prefabricated barrier on the Vltava River bank. Metrologists forecast that river levels in the Czech Republic will continue to rise over the weekend, with some areas already receiving 50 to 110 liters per square meter since Friday.
Two villages in Poland evacuated
The situation in southwestern Poland is likewise precarious. The Biała Glucholaska river has flooded in the Opole region, forcing the evacuation of 400 residents from the village of Glucholazy near the Czech border. Interior Minister Tomasz Sikorski visited the site and shared rescue operation photos on X. Part of the residents of the village of Morów also had to be evacuated due to flooding from the Mora river. In total, firefighters carried out 400 operations in the region.
The Meteorological Institute is still anticipating continued rainfall. The alarm level has already been surpassed at 35 water measurement stations, the institute reported on X.
Alarm also in Austria
Unfortunately, the situation in Austria is also deteriorating due to persistent heavy rain. Klaus Stebal, the spokesman for the regional command, stated that the situation has "intensified" in Lower Austria, according to the Austrian news agency APA on Monday morning. Firefighters have been deployed to 160 operations since Friday evening, mostly due to storm damage. In Vienna, firefighters had to address 150 operations within the past 24 hours, mainly due to flooded cellars and broken branches.
Anticipated floods of around 30 years on the Danube and up to a century on the Kamp river are on the horizon, as per APA's report. Some municipalities initiated preliminary evacuations on Friday night, predominantly affecting greenhouse communities or holiday homes. Temporary flood barriers were erected in various towns, including the Wachau region.
"Things are going to worsen along the Kamp," remarked Stebal. Two disaster response trains have been mobilized, including a mission to safeguard a power substation. The river has already surged in low-lying districts, causing roads to shut down. According to Stebal, the height of water levels is predicted to peak primarily during the night on Monday.
The European Union has expressed concern over the catastrophic floods in several countries, including the Czech Republic and Austria. The European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to provide assistance if needed.
A high-level meeting has been called by the European Commission to discuss the impact of these floods on the affected countries and to coordinate a joint response. The European Union's Solidarity Fund could potentially provide financial aid to help with the recovery and rebuilding efforts.
