Thousands flee in eastern Germany as dam bursts in central Europe floods

A dam near Saxony-Anhalt state capital Magdeburg in eastern Germany burst overnight on Monday despite attempts to stabilise it, forcing the authorities to ask more than 20,000 people to leave their homes.

The dam breach happened at a village 40 km northeast of Magdeburg, regional disaster management authorities said, and hundreds of local residents were immediately asked to evacuate.

Water levels in the Elbe river rose to a record 7.4 metres over the weekend, more than 5 meters higher that the normal reading of 2 meters.

According to the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, flood water levels had fallen slightly in the Magdeburg city on Monday, while other parts of Saxony-Anhalt still faces flood threat. Local media said precautionary evacuations affected more than 44,000 people in Saxony-Anhalt state as a whole.

Authorities said the situation is currently under control, but warned that the high waters could put further pressure on regional dams in coming days as the flood water rushes downstream toward Hamburg. Meteorologists have forecast more rain in the coming days.

Tens of thousands of firefighters, soldiers and volunteers have been working on rescue efforts across the country.

German President Joachim Gauck on Sunday toured some of the flooded eastern regions, including the flood-stricken city of Halle near Magdeburg. Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel is planning a crisis meeting with state leaders on how the cost of the disaster will be shared, the Leipziger Volkszeitung daily reported.

Local residents look at the flooded area of their hometown in Passau, Germany, June 6, 2013. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)

Besides Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria have also been hit by the recent floods caused by heavy rains. More than 20 people have been reported dead in the central European floods, 11 of them in the Czech Republic.

Prague acting Mayor Tomas Hudecek on Monday lifted the state of danger in the Czech capital city during a meeting of the emergency committee with respect to the Vltava river which is at the middle degree of flood activity.

The Vltava water level has been dropping since Saturday, but Hudecek refused to lift the state of danger with respect at that time for the weather forecast of further raining.

Hudecek said on Monday that Prague is ready for further water. Water has been released from reservoirs that were responsible for some floods in the city and the reservoirs on the Vltava also have a sufficient retention capacity now.

Prague will keep its anti-flood barriers for the time being.

The floods that started in the Czech Republic one week ago has claimed 11 lives and thousands of people have had to be evacuated.

Meanwhile in Slovakia, as water has begun to recede in areas along the Danube River, mosquito problem has emerged in the wake of the floods, said Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak on Monday.

The Slovak government will react to deal with the problem, said the minister.

"It's going to be a sort of 'epidemic' of mosquitoes. We'll certainly attempt to react as quickly as possible. We'll adopt measures on Wednesday that will represent a fast, clear and efficient response," said Kalinak.

Former environment minister Jozsef Nagy said this problem will soon concern around 500,000 people, adding that he will initiate a legislative amendment to be adopted at the next parliamentary session to include cost for dealing with mosquitoes into relief work.

Bratislava declared an emergency situation over the threat of floods last week.

Hungarian authorities announced late Sunday that the flooding Danube River has reached record high in Budapest and is expected to set new highs downriver.

According to the Water Management Office of the Hungarian Interior Ministry, the water level of the Danube River peaked at 891 cm in the capital city Sunday night, up 30 cm over the previous record in 2006.

Some 1,500 people in Budapest have been required to evacuate, the authorities said. No injuries have been reported in the Hungarian capital.

According to Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos, the water level was expected to recede slowly, so the dikes in the capital city would have to be fully manned until Wednesday evening. Currently about 15,000 people are at work to prevent the flooding of residential areas.

Many of Budapest's traffic arteries had to be closed, some because of the flood and others because they were needed by emergency vehicles. Citizens had been asked to use public transportation.