05/06 04:07 CET
At least 12 people have been killed (click here) in severe flooding that has swamped a large part of central Europe.
The high water is now shifting north from Prague to eastern Germany.
The city of Dresden is inundated. It was last deluged by flood water in 2002.
In the German state of Saxony around ten thousand people have been evacuated from their homes.
Mindful of a looming election, Chancellor Angela Merkel was swiftly on the scene.
“Many people are still in shock from the floods of 2002,” she told the crowd, “and things were just getting rebuilt. The federal government will support the flood-hit areas. For every euro spent by the state, the federal government will give another.”
“Many people are still in shock from the floods of 2002,” she told the crowd, “and things were just getting rebuilt. The federal government will support the flood-hit areas. For every euro spent by the state, the federal government will give another.”
In Austria, the Danube has not been as high for ten years. 20, 000 emergency personnel have been deployed.
The Netherlands gets ready for floods as river water levels rise (click here)
Monday 03 June 2013
Flood plains along the banks of the Rhine and other major rivers are expected to be under water in places later this week as very heavy rains in Germany have an effect in the Netherlands.
The water in the Rhine at Lobith, where the river crosses into the Netherlands, is expected to reach 13.55 metres above NAP in the coming days. NAP is the base used to measure how high or low water levels are.
A river level of 13.55 metres is considered high but not worrying....
