Slovak capital expects to withstand Danube floods
Date: 16-Aug-02
Country: SLOVAKIA
Author: Michael Winfrey
The interior ministry told Reuters it expected the Danube, Europe's largest inland shipping route, to continue to swell until Friday, but data indicated it was rising more slowly than in previous days, and officials said anti-flood measures should prevent widespread evacuations or damage.
"The situation remains critical. The water is still expected to rise, and it should reach its highest level sometime tomorrow morning," said Lieutenant Ladislav Szakallos from the Operational Civic Protection Centre.
"We're taking all the measures to prevent water from spilling over the banks into the centre, but at the moment we don't expect this to happen."
He said the Danube is now at 9.6 metres (10.5 yards) in Bratislava, and it should be at around 10 metres at its highest level. The rising tide had forced several families to flee their homes in the western Bratislava suburb of Devin this week.
Slovak meteorologists said the Danube's level was falling in Austria, where floods killed several in the worst natural disaster there in a century. Across Europe, floods have killed at least 80 people and forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes.
Vienna, around 50 km (30 miles) upstream from Bratislava, was out of danger, possibly easing pressure on the Slovak stretch of the Danube that is now swelling mainly due to the Morava river flowing down from Moravia in the Czech Republic.
In Bratislava's old town, which would suffer the most if the river were to break through the anti-flood barriers, hundreds of people and businesses were readying for the floods by fortifying cellar windows and moving furniture and equipment higher.
"We've moved everything out... and we're afraid the barriers won't hold back the water," said Emil Makara, a 31-year-old architecht whose office is in a basement near the river.
Marta Privitzerova, a city hall employee in Bratislava's old-town, said the city's authorities were all confident the protection line around Bratislava should withstand the highest expected water levels, but that there was still a risk.
"We're not sure what specific areas would be affected if the water breaks through, however, we are getting ready for this possibility," Privitzerova said.
"We've already made a list of all citizens who would need immediate help in evacuation and who are old, sick or immobile."
Szakallos and other officials in Bratislava would not give a fixed estimate on the extent of possible evacuation plans.