Residents and business owners in Broad Channel, N.Y., are protesting skyrocketing insurance rates that are part of a new federal law designed to keep FEMA afloat. The new law increases the number of areas that are deemed flood zones and stipulates that homeowners in those areas raise their houses or face increased premiums. Don Dahler reports.
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Congress tried to cut subsidies for homes in flood zones. It was harder than they thought.
Back in 1968, Congress first began subsidizing flood-insurance policies for homeowners across the nation. That change allowed more Americans to move into coastal areas and floodplains without paying full price for the risks involved.
Flooding during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 (The Washington Post)
By 2012, however, lawmakers were rethinking the whole scheme. The National Flood Insurance Program was subsidizing premiums for 1.1 million policies and running multi-billion-dollar deficits. On top of that, scientists were predicting that sea-level rise would make flooding even more common in the years ahead. Environmentalists and fiscal conservatives alike argued that it made little sense to encourage building in high-risk areas.
So, that summer, Congress voted to revamp the program.* The Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 aimed to end subsidized rates for 438,000 insurance policies in flood zones — mainly second homes, businesses, and repeatedly flooded properties. Subsidies for the rest (about 715,000 properties) would get rolled back more gradually, as the homes got sold. A separate set of properties could also face premium hikes as the government revises its flood maps.
Heavy rains, large waves and strong winds wreaked havoc in Britain and Ireland today, cancelling flights and sparking a “significant risk to life” warning.
The worst of the weather was battering the Republic of Ireland but gusts were expected to pick up across Wales and southern parts of England during the day.
The Environment Agency warned “extraordinary measures” may be taken in Gloucestershire today to keep back tidal and river floods.
Large waves caused by high winds and spring tides batter Lahinc
It issued severe flood warnings – meaning there is an imminent danger to life – for several parts of the county and the coasts of Cornwall and north Devon.
Further warnings are in place along the length of the River Severn amid fears it could burst its banks. It also warned the risk of flooding could continue into next week.
Flood barriers have already been installed in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the water level rises.
Flooding in central Limerick, Ireland (pic: Sean Keogh/@Fame_For_Sale)
A statement issued by the agency said: “Gales, large waves and high tides present a danger to life and are expected to result in overtopping of sea walls and defences causing flooding to properties along with disruption to travel.
“The risk of flooding will continue into next week, with the Met Office forecasting further heavy rainfall across southern England and Wales.
“This rain will fall in areas where ground water and river levels are already high, bringing an ongoing risk of flooding.”
Lesser warnings remain in place for many parts of Britain, including the already blighted Somerset Levels and west Wales, where 49 flood warnings and 15 alerts have been issued this morning.
Residents in Limerick paddle down the road in a boat. Pic: Anne SheridanThe Anchor Bleu in Bosham (pic Stephen Sumner)
In the Republic of Ireland, there were reports of severe flooding in Limerick City with the river Shannon bursting its banks.
With gusts of almost 80mph in coastal areas of the country, several parts were hit by flooding and at one stage 5,500 homes and properties were left without power, 4,000 of them in Ennis, Co Clare.
Flights out of Dublin airport were affected because of the gales force winds. Flights to Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Cardiff, Paris and Madrid had to be cancelled.
Isabel Webster, reporting from the River Parrett in Burrowbridge, Somerset, tweeted at 8.30am: “High tide in Burrowbridge this morning. It’s just touching the sand bags.”
Minutes later she tweeted: “Water is seeping through giant sandbags onto road beyond at high tide here in Burrowbridge.”
Heavy rains, large waves and strong winds wreaked havoc in Britain and Ireland today, cancelling flights and sparking a ‘significant risk to life’ warning.
The worst of the weather was battering the Republic of Ireland but gusts were expected to pick up across Wales and southern parts of England during the day.
The Environment Agency warned ‘extraordinary measures’ may be taken in Gloucestershire to keep back tidal and river floods.
It issued severe flood warnings – meaning there is an imminent danger to life – for several parts of the county and the coasts of Cornwall and north Devon.
Further warnings are in place along the length of the River Severn amid fears it could burst its banks. It also warned the risk of flooding could continue into next week.
Flood barriers have already been installed in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the water level rises.
A statement issued by the agency said: ‘Gales, large waves and high tides present a danger to life and are expected to result in overtopping of sea walls and defences causing flooding to properties along with disruption to travel.
‘The risk of flooding will continue into next week, with the Met Office forecasting further heavy rainfall across southern England and Wales.
‘This rain will fall in areas where ground water and river levels are already high, bringing an ongoing risk of flooding.’
Lesser warnings remain in place for many parts of Britain, including the already blighted Somerset Levels and west Wales, where 49 flood warnings and 15 alerts have been issued this morning.
Canada gets hammered with flooding . Putting 100,000 residents on alert that they may have to leave Calgary. At least one person is missing in Alberta because of the severe weather. Flood waters trapped customers in one store, fire officials were called in to rescue them. The situation could get worse before it gets better. A rainfall warning has been issued for Calgary and Alberta , estimating as much as four inches of rain could fall within the next 2 days.
A tornado warning issued in Cypress County in the southeast corner of Alberta has ended, but the area saw plenty of rain, hail, wind and severe thunderstorms. Meteorologists had been tracking a possible tornado on doppler radar five kilometres north of Elkwater, according to Environment Canada. It was part of a severe rotating thunderstorm that also has the potential to produce large hail, strong wind gusts and heavy rainfall. Another tornado warning issued for the County of Forty Mile near Manyberries has also ended. Environment Canada says the storm created a funnel that was spotted near the southwest shore of Pakowki Lake at 6:45 p.m. MT. Many areas of southern Alberta are under weather warnings tonight. Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Foremost, Cardston, Fort Macleod, Magrath, Lethbridge, Taber and Milk River. Rainfall warnings have been issued for Banff National Park, Airdrie, Cochrane, Olds, Sundre, Calgary, Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek, Waterton Lakes National Park, Kananaskis, Canmore, Okotoks, High River, Claresholm, Rocky Mountain House and Caroline.
A torrential downpour that was in the forecast all day Wednesday came as promised, and itâs forced a state of emergency due to flooding in Canmore. Authorities in Canmore say that the rains have forced Cougar Creek to overflow and that waterway has now flooded Highway One, making any western travel extremely difficult. Both east and westbound lanes are closed and Bow Valley Trail is also shut down due to the flooding. Officials in Canmore are also concerned that a pedestrian bridge that runs across the swollen Cougar Creek is at risk of falling. All public schools in Banff and Canmore have also been closed due to the weather. To make matters worse, a mudslide has reportedly shut down all traffic in Highway One about 40 km east of Canmore. RCMP are now turning around all of the traffic in the area, saying that the closure could last for several hours. Two other mudslides have also cut off traffic in other locations. One slide has cut off Highway 40 to Canoe Meadows just south of the Fortress Gas Station in Kananaskis. Another, near Banff, has shut down many of the highways in the area. A local state of emergency has also been reported for Exshaw, in the M.D. of Bighorn. Media reports say that there is no access to Highway 1A east or west and that residents there should not use water unless absolutely necessary. A state of emergency has also been declared for High River.
Calgarians are being urged to stay away from the city’s downtown core, and all public and Catholic schools are closed Friday as river water levels are projected to rise throughout the night, with the city bracing for the overland flooding expected this morning. The bulk of evacuations for up to 100,000 people living in low-lying areas were expected to be completed overnight – with police and city officials urging workers to stay away from Calgary’s corporate towers, including a number of downtown blocks expected to be evacuated – and be careful around river banks and bridges. Many of the evacuees won’t be able to return home until at least Saturday. The city’s main homeless shelter was evacuated late Thursday, the city issued warnings about public transit interruptions, and the main downtown health emergency centre has been closed. “If you don’t need to be downtown, please don’t go downtown,” Calgary Police Service Deputy Chief Trevor Daroux said. Although only a few neighbourhoods were experiencing overland flooding late Thursday night, Dan Limacher, Calgary’s director of water services, said city residents could wake up to a different city on Friday. Water flows are eight to nine times higher than normal at this point in June, he said. “Tomorrow morning, we will see a lot more water in the city than we see tonight.”As sporadic rain continued, Mr. Limacher said river flow on the Elbow River will peak between 3-5 a.m. today, and the city’s largest river, the Bow will stop rising at that time — but maybe not go down as significantly as the Elbow River will. Mr. Limacher emphasized that the city’s drinking water shouldn’t be affected by the flooding. City officials said a few people were refusing to leave their homes but power and natural gas supplies are being cut in areas where the mandatory evacuation orders were issued. Traffic at evacuation centres was light as most people found a temporary bed at a friend or family member’s home. The disaster unfolding in Calgary was part of wider flooding that played out across southern Alberta Thursday, as flash floods hit the community of High River south of Calgary, a tiny creek became a deluge that washed away yards and fences in the mountain town of Canmore, and debris in rushing water triggered a sour gas leak in Turner Valley, south of Calgary. “It’s actually one of the most significant flood events this city has ever experienced,” alderman John Mar said in an interview. “This is a state of emergency, the first in this municipality since the 1920s.” Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths arrived at the city of Calgary’s emergency centre late Thursday, telling reporters that government is coordinating activities. He said the Canadian military may be called, in some specific instances, to help.
Mr. Griffiths said emergency crews would continue to work through the night “to make sure that Albertans are safe, and try to protect as much property as possible as the situation unfolds.” Justin Thompson, his wife and two young children were given less than an hour’s notice to evacuate from their low-lying Sunnyside home in inner city Calgary Thursday evening. After dropping his family at his in-laws’ higher ground house, he returned to his own home to retrieve crucial documents from the basement. “I am surprised how close the river is from the top of banks right now,” he said while surveying the Bow River from a nearby hill. “I’ve never seen it this high. It’s pretty wild.” City officials said the water levels seen in Calgary are three times as bad as the floods that hit southern Alberta in 2005. They were forced to accelerate the pace of evacuation just before 7 p.m. after they were surprised by increasing water flow on the Bow River – after originally believing water levels would remain constant through the night – adding parts of two low-lying inner-city neighbourhoods to the evacuation orders.
“This is not going to be an incident of hours, it’s going to be an incident of days,” said Chief Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency. In High River, the rise in water levels was so rapid that an evacuation centre itself had to be evacuated. One woman was missing after being swept into the Highwood River near the town. Okotoks, Calgary, Canmore, Lethbridge and Crowsnest Pass are among the towns that have declared states of emergencies and evacuated some residents. The Canadian Forces dispatched helicopters to rescue residents stranded on rooftops and clinging to treetops. Barbara Mathies, who lives in Elbow Park, said she was “a little panicky” after learning from her neighbour about the order to flee. She and husband Richard Emmer made plans to stay with a local friend, whose husband was stranded in Banff by flooding and highway closures. “I just called Richard to say, âPlease can you come home?’ Because I need some help to decide what to pack. It might be three days, and rumour has it that our electricity might be turned off, so I need to figure out what I’m going to do with the stuff in my fridge – just little things like that,” Ms. Mathies said.
The Calgary Zoo, through which the Bow River flows just east of downtown, evacuated nonessential staff as the city closed two bridges that provide access. The facility closed on Thursday and will remain shut Friday. “Our animal care team, along with our facilities department, will continue to monitor the situation throughout the night and into tomorrow,” spokeswoman Larissa Mark said. “They will be taking all necessary precautions should the island experience any flooding. Our animals will be moved to higher ground and into sheltered spaces for protection.” Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi made a plea for residents to stay clear of the flood zones as waters rose. “We’ve got lots of people out there sandbagging and berming. We need the assistance of the community in this, both in staying away from the riverbanks and assisting where they can with their neighbours,” Mr. Nenshi said following a lunchtime speech in Toronto before getting on a plan back to Alberta. “If you don’t live near the river and you can offer a place to stay for friends and family, that would be a very good thing.” The Calgary Board of Education closed six schools in potential flood zones for Friday.
In Turner Valley, another town just south of Calgary, a pipeline carrying dangerous sour natural gas broke open because of the natural disaster. Highways accessing Canmore were closed, isolating the Rocky Mountain community. Nearby Banff is in better shape, with no expectation of flooding and no danger of mudslides reaching the town, although all roads into the internationally famous tourist destination were closed on Thursday evening.
PUBLISHED: 09:58 EST, 20 June 2013 | UPDATED: 10:04 EST, 20 June 2013
The Philippines financial capital has banned disposable plastic shopping bags and Styrofoam food containers from today.
The move comes as part of escalating efforts across the nation’s capital to curb rubbish blamed for deadly flooding.
Just hours after the ban was introduced, members of Makati City’s Plastic Monitoring Task Force were out on the streets looking for vendors that were ignoring the new rules.
A 25ft-high tidal wave of rubbish: The Philippines financial capital banned disposable plastic shopping bags and styrofoam food containers as part of escalating efforts across the nation’s capital to curb rubbish that exacerbates deadly flooding
Cause: Men play basketball near the dump site – the project officer of Makati’s environmental services department, said cutting down on plastic was vital to stop the clogging of the city’s waterways, which is widely blamed for contributing to floods
Food wrapped in plastic is still available, but Makati, one of 17 cities or districts that make up Metro Manila, has gone ahead with banning plastic bags.
Prexy Macana, project officer of Makati’s environmental services department, told AFP that scaling back the use of plastic bags was essential to halt the clogging of the city’s waterways, which is widely blamed for contributing to floods.
‘During our bi-monthly wastewater clean-ups, we found most of the garbage is plastics,’ she said.
Flooding is common in Manlia – last August the Philippine capital was brought to a near standstill by flooding after almost 24 hours of continuous rain – it left nine dead and scores homeless.
The previous year flash floods in the Philippines left a death toll of 1000.
Nature ruined: Fishermen sit on a rubbish-filled riverbank at a dump site in Manila. Consumers are now being given the option of paper alternatives or not using a bag at all
Making a living: A man arranges used plastic bottles on a truck to be sold at a shop in Manila
The Roman Catholic shrine at Lourdes has been evacuated after flash floods struck south-western France. Tourists and pilgrims were moved away as rising water began to spill over a nearby bridge. The Massabielle cave, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a local girl, Bernadette Soubirous, in 1858, was also flooded.
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Floods close Lourdes pilgrimage site in Pyrenees
By BOB EDME, Associated Press 1:59 a.m.June 19, 2013
Buildings are surrounded by flood water near Lourdes, southwestern France, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. French rescue services and police are evacuating hundreds of pilgrims from hotels threatened by floodwaters from a rain-swollen river in the Roman Catholic shrine town of Lourdes. (AP Photo/Bob Edme) — AP
A group of people approach a collapsed road in Villelongue, near Lourdes, southwestern France, Wednesday, June 19, 2013 after heavy flooding destroyed it. French rescue services and police are evacuating hundreds of pilgrims from hotels threatened by floodwaters from a rain-swollen river in the Roman Catholic shrine town of Lourdes. (AP Photo/Bob Edme) / AP
LOURDES, France — Heavy floods in southwest France have left two dead and forced the closure of the Catholic pilgrimage site in Lourdes and the evacuation of pilgrims from nearby hotels.
Muddy floodwaters swirled Wednesday in the grotto where nearly 6 million believers from around the world, many gravely ill, come every year seeking miracles and healing. It has been a major pilgrimage site since a French girl’s vision of the Virgin Mary there in 1858.
Heavy rains around the region inundated town centers and swelled the Gave de Pau river, forcing road closures.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls said on BFM television that a man in his seventies died Wednesday, swept away by the river. The Interior Ministry says it is the second person who has died in this week’s rains.
The spokesman for the Lourdes pilgrimage complex, Mathias Terrier said that the site in the foothills of the Pyrenees wasn’t likely to reopen before the end of the week.
Rescue services evacuated hundreds of people from nearby hotels. Authorities were particularly concerned with bringing weak and sick pilgrims to safety.
June 10, 2013 – GERMANY – Tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes as the River Elbe burst through a dam and flooded parts of eastern Germany.
Today the Elbe breached another levee on its relentless march towards the North Sea, forcing Germany to evacuate ten villages and close one of the country’s main railway routes.
Upstream there was some relief as the river slipped back from record levels in Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt state.
At least 21 flood-related deaths have been in reported in central Europe following a week of heavy rain, leading to rivers swelling and extensive damage.
The latest confirmed death was an 80-year-old man in Austria who died of a heart attack yesterday during the clean-up operation in the wake of floods.
Magdeburg had water levels more than 16ft above normal over the weekend, although the Elbe has now retreated by about a foot.
More than 23,000 people had to leave their homes in the city when the electricity was cut off and streets flooded.
But further downstream, a levee at Fischbeck, west of Berlin, was breached overnight, prompting officials to evacuate ten villages in the area.
Germany’s national railway had to close a bridge near Fischbeck on the line from Berlin to Cologne, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
Residents in the Rothensee neighbourhood of Magdeburg were evacuated with tanks, trucks and buses.
‘Rothensee is filling up like a bathtub,’ army spokesman Andre Sabzog told news agency dpa.
Around 700 soldiers were trying to build a dam of sandbags around a power substation to protect it from the Elbe.
If the substation floods, thousands of households would be left without water and it would lead to a breakdown of the neighborhood’s dewatering pumps.
More than 80,000 emergency personnel including firefighters and soldiers were on duty Saturday, working aggressively to contain the most dramatic floods in Germany in a decade. Thousands of residents were still unable to return to their homes, and bridges and streets were impassable in many regions of eastern and southern Germany. Twenty people reportedly have already died in the floods across central Europe after several days of heavy rains. Thousands have been put up in emergency shelters waiting for the waters to recede so they can get back to their homes. German news agency dpa said people in Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt were anxiously waiting downstream as the crest of the Elbe river approached Saturday. Authorities evacuated a nursing home and turned off electricity in several parts of the city. Where the Saale river meets the Elbe, about 3,000 people had to leave their homes. “The coming days will be extreme and difficult,” Magdeburg’s mayor, Lutz Truemper, told news agency dpa.
German authorities have urged more than 15,000 people to evacuate the eastern city of Magdeburg has flood levels reached record levels. Meanwhile, people in Budapest are bracing as the surging Danube approaches. The water level of the Elbe river in Magdeburg Sunday reached nearly 7.4 meters (24 feet), up from the normal level of two meters. The peak level was 70 centimeters above that reached during the last catastrophic floods in 2002, when the river’s maximum was 6.72 meters. “We hope that the dikes will withstand the pressure over the coming days, but we can’t be 100 percent sure,” said fire service spokesman Andreas Hamann, who is one of 1,200 emergency staff working in the area. Flooding in Germany and across central Europe has caused billions of euros of damage and killed at least 18 people. The evacuations in Magdeburg were described as a precaution, but a city spokesman said “people really are supposed to leave” when confronted with danger. A total of 23,000 have been asked to evacuate the city this weekend.
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Thousands flee flood-hit parts of Germany and Hungary
Thousands have had to leave their homes, as Stephen Evans reports
Some 23,000 people were forced to leave their homes in the east German city of Magdeburg after a dam burst on the flood-swollen River Elbe.
Although water levels in Magdeburg were reported to be subsiding on Monday, other parts of the state of Saxony-Anhalt remain under threat.
In Hungary, 1,200 people had to leave their homes but in the capital Budapest flood defences appear to have held.
At least 18 people have died in the floods in Central Europe.
Analysts say the damage 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
With levels on the Danube peaking, the mayor of Budapest sought to reassure the city’s inhabitants and said leaking dykes had been fixed.
“Budapest is not at risk of a catastrophe, the level is not expected to rise significantly,” Istvan Tarlos said.
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,
More than 1,200 people have been evacuated from their homes along the river, although no flood-related deaths have yet been reported in Hungary.
In Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt state, more than 23,000 people left their homes on Sunday as flood waters rose to 7.44m (24ft), nearly four times higher than normal (2m).
Czech officials have said the waters of the Vltava river could reach critical levels in the capital city Prague as torrential rain continued to cause chaos and claim lives across central Europe. At least eight people have died and at least two are missing after heavy rain caused landslides and swelled river waters to dangerously high levels in three countries. Czech officials said the waters of the Vltava river could reach critical levels in Prague and that special metal walls were being erected to prevent flooding. Interim Mayor Tomas Hudecek said they were shutting down eight stations of the capital’s subway network and urging people not to travel to the city. Anticipating traffic problems, the mayor said all nursery, elementary and high schools in the Czech capital will be closed today. In the nearby town of Trebenice where a woman was found dead in the rubble after a summer cottage collapsed due to the raging water, authorities discovered the dead body of a man, Czech public television reported. Separately, at least three other people were reportedly missing.
The government of Czech Republic declared a state of emergency across much of the country on Monday. In Prague, the fire brigade erected flood barriers to try to protect the Old Town from the swollen Vltava River, which flows through the Czech capital. Meteorologists said the flooding in Prague and other areas of the country probably had not yet reached their peak. Heavy rainfall has also caused heavy flooding in low-lying regions of Austria – as well as landslides on some mountains. The number of deaths attributed to the flooding rose to two on Monday after the body of a man missing since Saturday evening was recovered. There has been at least one flood-related death in Germany and six in the Czech Republic since the floods hit. The European Commission noted that help would be available to the victims of the current flooding through the European Solidarity Fund, which it set up after the last major floods to hit the region in 2002. “I want to assure those affected and the politicians, too, that the European family will lend support to its member states and help where it’s needed the most,” said Johannes Hahn, a spokesperson for EU Regional Policy Commissioner.
On Tuesday, at least e10 pople wre confirmeed dead in Czech Republic. About nine others are reportedly missing. Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas declared a state of emergency on June 2 and promised relief aid. The Czech Republic capital, Prague, is preparing for more flooding as the Vltava river is continuing to rise.
In the Czech Republic, firefighters said some 700 Czech villages, towns and cities have been hit by flooding in the last few days and some 20,500 people had to be evacuated. In the country’s north, the water in the Elbe reached its highest level overnight and began to recede Thursday.
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The Telegraph
Aerial footage shows extent of flooding across Europe
Flooding in the German city of Dresden and Czech capital Prague is een from the air, as the death toll due to the floods in Europe rises to at least 10.
9:28PM BST 04 Jun 2013
Aerial footage shows extent of flooding across Europe – Prague V01:19
Another nine people have been reported missing in the floods that have also swept through Austria and Switzerland.
Peak floodwaters coursing out of the Czech Republic were expected to hit Dresden, capital of the German province of Saxony, along the Elbe in three to four days.
Many areas of Dresden were already badly flooded on Tuesday, including some parts of the historic city centre.
Cities and towns in the German states of Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia and Brandenburg were also hit with flooding.
Seven of those killed in the floods were in the Czech Republic, where a man was found dead in the water in eastern Bohemia on Tuesday.
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The Telegraph
Woman wakeboards along street in flood-hit Czech Republic
Video of a woman wakeboarding through the flooded streets of a Czech town has provided a rare moment of levity for the Czech Republic as it continues to battle the worst flooding in over decade.
Woman wakeboards along street in flood-hit Czech Republic V00:34
The video, which has become an internet hit in theCzech Republic, shows the 26-year old, known only as Mila, being towed by a car and skimming along the water-filled streets of the town of Pisek in southern Bohemia.
“We were going round the town taking pictures and then we saw children splashing in the water and that gave us the idea,” Radek, the man who made the video, told the Czech press. “We thought we could go boarding.”
The wakeboarding video came as vast flood waters caused by days of torrential rain continued to leave a trail of death and destruction across the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
The surging Elbe River crested Thursday in the eastern German city of Dresden, sparing the historic city center but engulfing wide areas of the Saxony capital. Residents and emergency crews had worked through the night to fight the floods in Dresden. The German military and the national disaster team sent more support in a frantic effort to sandbag levees and riverbanks as floodwaters that have claimed 16 lives since last week surged north. “Everybody’s afraid but the people are simply fantastic and sticking together,” said Dresden resident Silvia Fuhrmann, who had brought food and drinks to those building sandbag barriers. The Elbe hit 8.76 meters (28 feet, 9 inches) around midday – well above its regular level of two meters (6 1/2 feet). Still, that was not high enough to damage city’s famous opera, cathedral and other buildings in its historic city center, which was devastated in a flood in 2002. Germany has 60,000 local emergency personnel and aid workers, as well as 25,000 federal disaster responders and 16,000 soldiers now fighting the floods. Farther downstream, the town of Lauenburg – just southwest of Hamburg – evacuated 150 houses along the Elbe, n-tv news reported, as the floodwaters roared toward the North Sea.
The rivers Inn (back) and Danube flood the old city of Passau, southern Germany, on June 3, 2013. Due to heavy and ongoing rainfalls, parts of the southern state of Bavaria were flooded. CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images
A person looks at the heavily damaged road between Lofer and Waidring in the Austrian province of Tyrol, Monday, June. 3, 2013. Heavy rainfalls caused floods along rivers and lakes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)
Rescuers navigate through an overflooded street in Passau, southern Germany, on June 3, 2013. Parts of the eastern and southern Germany were flooded due to heavy and ongoing rainfalls. CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images
The ongoing rain continues here in southern German state of Bavaria on Sunday, resulting in emergency to many parts and even to neighboring countries. The flood situation worsened in much of southern and eastern Bavaria as a result of the week-long rain. The areas of the Danube and Inn are mainly affected. In Passau, which lies at the joint point of the Danube, Inn and Ilz, the authorities expect a new record level of the Danube by early Monday morning. The old town of Passau is already under water. Some streets are cut off power supply due to security concerns. It will be decided in the city of Regensburg in the next few hours whether about 250 residents should leave their neighborhood. The Tegernsee in Bavaria is currently rising by about 10 centimeters per hour. The power supply there is also interrupted to some extent. Parts of the highway A8 are locked at the freshwater lake Chiemsee. The railway also has big problems in the flooded areas, with several routes being blocked. The neighboring states are also affected, including Saxony and Baden-Wuerttemberg.
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.
Raging waters from three rivers have flooded large parts of the southeast German city of Passau following days of heavy rainfall in central Europe. A spokesman for the city’s crisis center said Monday that the situation was “extremely dramatic” and waters are expected to rise further by midday to their level highest in 70 years. Herbert Zillinger told The Associated Press that much of the city was inaccessible except by boat and electricity supplies have been shut off as a precaution.
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Thousands flee flooding in central Europe
Thousands of people have fled their homes in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria as central Europe is hit by heavy flooding.
The Telegraph
Image 1 of 3
Flooded houses next to river Steyr are pictured during heavy rainfall in the Austrian city of SteyrPhoto: REUTERS
By Agencies
11:48AM BST 03 Jun 2013
In Germany, raging waters from three rivers poured into the old town of Passau, one of the cities worst hit by flooding that has spread across a large area of central Europe.
Rescuers used boats to transport residents from flooded parts of the city to dry land as officials warned that water levels – already the highest in 70 years – could rise further. A spokesman for the city’s crisis centre said much of Passau was inaccessible on foot and the electricity supply had been shut down as a precaution.
“The situation is extremely dramatic,” spokesman Herbert Zillinger told The Associated Press.
Water from the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers rose above markers set in 1954, when the city suffered its worst flooding in living memory. Zillinger said levels would continue to rise throughout the day.
Rivers in Saxony and Baden-Wuerttemberg, as well as in Bavaria, have burst their banks, according to a Sueddeutsche Zeitung report. A man was found dead in Salzburg, Austria, and two others are missing, according to the Salzburger Nachrichten. The army is also helping civil authorities.
Statue of Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy is seen in flooded Vltava river in central Prague, Czech Republic, Flood danger was declared in also in others regions in western and northern parts of the Czech Republic.Photo: EPA
At least two people have been killed in devastating floods gripping the western Czech Republic. The disaster caused by torrential rains has prompted the evacuation of metro stations, several hospitals and the zoo in the capital. Heavy rain over the weekend has resulted in flood warnings in west, north, central and south Bohemia. At least one woman is dead, after her home collapsed in Trebenice u Prahy, southwest of Prague and two people are missing after their raft overturned on the River Berounka in Hlasna Treban in central Bohemia. In Prague, rescue workers, aided by the army, have set up flood barriers for the first time since the devastating floods of 2002. Hospitals, retirement homes and cultural institutions as well as the zoo are being evacuated across the city. A state of emergency has been declared in the Czech Republic due to the threat of flooding, Prime Minister Petr Nečas announced in a televised address. He added that the government has allocated 300 million Czech Koruna ($15 million ) to battle the flooding. “The situation is very serious,” acting mayor Tomas Hudecek stated, as water levels in the Vltava, the river that flows through Prague, reached 1,513 cubic meters per second. During the 2002 floods 5,000 cubic meters was flowing through the city every second, according to the Prague Post. The rising water levels have interrupted rail services between Bohemia and Moravia, with trains being stopped near Kolin. The flooding also partially damaged half of the 51 metro stations in Prague, with 17 of them submerged, local media Ceskenoviny reports adding that the total damage was put at 73 billion Czech Koruna (about $4 billion) , 27 billion (about $1,5 billion) of which in Prague only.
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.
The worst floods to hit the Czech Republic in a decade forced the evacuation of almost 2,700 people from low-lying areas while the rising water threatened Prague’s historic center, forced school closures and disrupted public transport. Czech police said at least five people had died in the flooding. Firefighters evacuated homes in western regions and in villages outside the capital on Sunday and Monday, rescuing 200 people. Flooding was also reported in Austria and water levels rose in Germany and Poland after heavy rain in central Europe over the past week swelled rivers. At least one person died and two were missing in Austria near Salzburg.
The subway network in central Prague was halted on Monday due to the weather, for the first time since massive floods submerged the city in 2002 and caused billions of dollars of damage in the Czech Republic. Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas declared a state of emergency for most of the nation on Sunday and pledged 300 million crowns ($15.11 million) for relief efforts. Troops started putting anti-flood barriers in place in Prague and volunteers helped pile up sandbags in areas popular with tourists in the ancient center. The landmark Charles Bridge was closed and workers evacuated parts of Prague zoo. Levels on the Vltava river that cuts through Prague’s center continued to rise on Monday. A spokeswoman for the state river management company said the levels could peak in the afternoon likely at half the level recorded in 2002. Meteorologists said the steady rains that have hit the country in the past week could ease in coming days, according to CTK news agency.
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Worst flooding for a decade hits Prague
The Czech capital Prague declared a state of emergency as the worst flooding for over a decade tore into the city, threatening to engulf the streets of its historic heart.
Statue of Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy is seen in flooded Vltava river in central Prague, Czech Republic, Flood danger was declared in also in others regions in western and northern parts of the Czech Republic.Photo: EPA
Supported by troops and volunteers, Prague’s fire brigade erected metal flood barriers and sandbag walls in a battle to keep the River Vltava at bay while at the city’s zoo tigers were tranquillised as part of an animal exodus to the safety of dry ground.
Schools were closed, much of the Prague transport system shut down and the famous Charles Bridge spanning the Vltava usually jammed with thousands of tourists fell lifeless after local authorities closed it.
Days of torrential rain have carpeted central Europe and turned placid rivers into raging, muddy torrents that have claimed the lives of about eight people and destroyed scores of homes and buildings across the Czech Republic, southern Germany and Austria.
In the Czech Republic over 7,000 people have been evacuated, and Petr Necas, the Czech prime minister, said he had ordered the release of emergency funding for people who have lost their homes to the flooding. The country’s health ministry warned of the spread of waterborne diseases owing to flooding disrupting water supplies and flushing raw sewage onto the streets.
Gov’t declares state of emergency as the Vltava River swells to critical levels
Posted: June 2, 2013
By News Desk – Team
Walter Novak
The Kampa and Střelecký islands in the historic Prague city center were underwater as of the morning of June 3.
VIDEO: Click here for a video of the floods taken from the Vltava riverbank the morning of June 3.
Seven people have been confirmed dead and four are missing as a result of the flooding that has devastated parts of the Czech Republic, a police spokeswoman said Monday.
In addition, as of Monday, more than 7,100 people have been evacuated from areas threatened by floodwaters after rivers throughout the country spilled over their banks.
A state of emergency remains in effect in regions including Prague. The army has been dispatched to help with emergency manoeuvres.
Authorities said 2,800 cubic meters of water flowed through the capital Monday afternoon. Environment Minister Tomáš Chalupa expects water flow in Prague to reach a rate of up to 3,500 cubic meters per second and peak during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Prime Minister Petr Nečas said the government has earmarked 4.5 billion Kč in relief and reconstruction aid. Those afflicted by the flooding will be eligible to receive up to 51,140 Kč in individual compensation.
Some 2,000 soldiers have been deployed to help clear areas damaged by the flooding. More than half of those evacuated hail from the central Bohemian region.
In Prague, riverside businesses and homes have been cleared, including in the historical center. Public transport authorities have closed major segments of all three metro lines as well as trams, and a replacement service has been deployed throughout the city.
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