Prague on high alert as thousands are evacuated across Czech Republic and neighbouring countries
Authorities in parts of central Europe issued disaster warnings and scrambled to reinforce flood defences on Sunday as rivers swelled by days of heavy rain threatened to burst their banks.
Several people have died since Thursday or are missing in the floods in Germany, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Some residents in south-western Poland have also been evacuated from flooding.
Czech officials said special metal walls had been erected in Prague to prevent flooding as the Vltava river approached critical levels.
Interim mayor Tomas Hudecek said authorities were shutting down eight stations of the capital's metro network and urging people not to travel. Three metro lines in central Prague would remain closed on Monday, as would all schools, he said.
Two people were found dead in the nearby town of Trebenice, one of them a woman discovered in the rubble after a summer cottage collapsed due to the raging water, Czech public television reported. At least three other people have been reported missing.
Many roads and train lines were closed, including the main one from Prague to the eastern part of the country.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said 300 soldiers had been deployed to help local authorities and up to 2,000 placed on standby. The government declared a state of emergency in six regions.
Thousands of people have had to be evacuated from their homes across the country. In Prague, authorities ordered the evacuation of parts of the city's zoo near the river and patients from a Prague hospital were moved to higher ground.
In Germany, where at least four people have died or are missing, Chancellor Angela Merkel promised federal support for affected areas and said the army would be deployed if necessary.
Several cities, including Chemnitz in the east, and Passau and Rosenheim in the south, issued disaster warnings.
Passau's mayor, Juergen Dupper, warned that the water might rise above record levels of 2002 in the city, which lies at the confluence of three rivers.
Large stretches of the Rhine, Main and Neckar rivers have been closed to ship traffic, the German news agency DPA reported.
Evacuations were also taking place in parts of Austria, Switzerland and Poland. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.
Authorities in parts of central Europe issued disaster warnings and scrambled to reinforce flood defences on Sunday as rivers swelled by days of heavy rain threatened to burst their banks.
Several people have died since Thursday or are missing in the floods in Germany, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Some residents in south-western Poland have also been evacuated from flooding.
Czech officials said special metal walls had been erected in Prague to prevent flooding as the Vltava river approached critical levels.
Interim mayor Tomas Hudecek said authorities were shutting down eight stations of the capital's metro network and urging people not to travel. Three metro lines in central Prague would remain closed on Monday, as would all schools, he said.
Two people were found dead in the nearby town of Trebenice, one of them a woman discovered in the rubble after a summer cottage collapsed due to the raging water, Czech public television reported. At least three other people have been reported missing.
Many roads and train lines were closed, including the main one from Prague to the eastern part of the country.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said 300 soldiers had been deployed to help local authorities and up to 2,000 placed on standby. The government declared a state of emergency in six regions.
Thousands of people have had to be evacuated from their homes across the country. In Prague, authorities ordered the evacuation of parts of the city's zoo near the river and patients from a Prague hospital were moved to higher ground.
In Germany, where at least four people have died or are missing, Chancellor Angela Merkel promised federal support for affected areas and said the army would be deployed if necessary.
Several cities, including Chemnitz in the east, and Passau and Rosenheim in the south, issued disaster warnings.
Passau's mayor, Juergen Dupper, warned that the water might rise above record levels of 2002 in the city, which lies at the confluence of three rivers.
Large stretches of the Rhine, Main and Neckar rivers have been closed to ship traffic, the German news agency DPA reported.
Evacuations were also taking place in parts of Austria, Switzerland and Poland. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.