Hungary braces for worst flood in 50 years

Hungary is preparing to face its worst flooding in 50 years as heavy rainfall continues to wreck havoc across Central Europe, killing seven people in the Czech Republic and leaving at least 10,000 homeless since Sunday.

The Hungarian government declared a state of emergency earlier this week in response to forecasts that the water levels of the Danube in Budapest may peak on Monday. Residents in flood-prone areas in the country's northwest near the Slovak border were even told to prepare for a possible evacuation.

Winding 2,850 kilometers across 10 nations, the Danube is the second-longest river in Europe, only after the Volga in Russia.

The Danube is normally around 370 meters wide as it passes the Hungarian parliament building in Budapest. Now its waters are lapping at the back steps of the neo-Gothic landmark and cover large sections of the usually busy roads and piers on both sides of the river.

The government has mobilized troops to help emergency and police personnel build protective dams and get people to safety. In addition, volunteers have been seen piling sandbags around subway stations to prevent flooding.

In 2002, several subway stations in Budapest were drowned in floodwater, causing great economic losses.

"We are working with these sandbags we've put around to protect underground station, and we didn't see so high a flood. It was 50 years ago when it was the same," said one of the volunteers, who only identified herself as Dora.

Prolonged heavy rainfall across Central Europe since late May has caused rivers to burst their banks in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria, resulting in the worst flooding there in more than a decade.


AP