Budapest residents warned of approaching 'flood of the decade'

Budapest Mayor Gergőj Korácsony has warned residents and visitors that Budapest is facing "the biggest flood of the decade". About it writes Telex.

According to him, the water level in the Danube will be the highest in the second half of the week, and due to heavy rain it will fall slowly. The river is expected to rise by 8 metres at this time.

Several sections of the lower embankment of Buda and Pest will be closed from Monday from 20:00. The lower Danube embankment is expected to flood on Tuesday," he warned.

He both said that the city's public utilities are preparing for the consequences of the flooding, while public transport in areas near the river is likely to face restrictions until the middle of next week - depending on how the situation develops.

Note that across Central as well as Eastern Europe, authorities and community volunteers are continuing efforts to cope with the effects of heavy rainfall and the resulting flooding.

Floods in Poland have left one person dead. In the country, the situation is most dramatic in the Lądek and Stronie-Slenske districts near the Czech border.

There are also fatalities in Austria. According to Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler, a firefighter fighting floods in Lower Austria has died.

The day before, on 14 September, it became known that in Romania four people died as a result of flooding, about 5000 houses were damaged, another 25 000 were left without electricity.

Further heavy rain is forecast in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Slovakia and southern Germany. Meteorologists said more than a third of the average annual rainfall could fall in some areas by 15 September, with strong winds further complicating the situation.