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Of course now the floods are receding, people will be asking why they hit the Czech Republic with such intensity, and whether more could have been done to prevent them. Is the present system of reservoirs and dams on the Vltava and other rivers sufficient? Should the landscape be altered to provide maximum protection against floods? My colleague Rob Cameron joins me in the studio now, Rob, was the damage we've seen over last week inevitable?

One of the most powerful images of the floods over the last few days has been the sight of the medieval bridge in the town of Pisek entirely under water, with nothing but the Baroque statues on the parapet visible above the rushing river. Scenes of the ancient Lesser Town of Prague have been just as dramatic, and not surprisingly there are fears that permanent damage could have been caused to some of the country's most important historic monuments. David Vaughan reports.

On Wednesday afternoon, the rising floodwaters of the river Vltava were just a couple of metres below Prague's famous medieval Charles Bridge, which has been closed to the public since Tuesday morning. Preservationists, Prague citizens and tourists have been keeping their fingers crossed that no harm befalls the historic bridge. What you may not know is that - over 100 years ago - several parts of Charles Bridge were actually washed away in tumultuous floods. Ian Willoughby has the story.

It's not just Prague that is having to cope with floods. Torrential rains have meant that a state of emergency has spread even to the far north of the country along the River Elbe. But much of the most serious flooding has been in the south, near the Czech Republic's borders with Austria and Germany. The centre of the historic town of Cesky Krumlov is entirely under water, as is the region's biggest city Ceske Budejovice, which has faced a series of flood waves. Earlier Radio Prague's David Vaughan talked to Barbora Tosnerova, who lives in

The Czech capital city Prague has been hit by its worst flood in more than a hundred years. 50, 000 residents have been ordered by authorities to evacuate their homes, and both citizens and tourists have been repeatedly warned to stay away from danger areas that include parts of the historic centre. Earlier in the day I spoke to my colleague Rob Cameron, who was at the scene:

It isn't often that we bring you a report from a small village church in the mountains. But Paseky nad Jizerou is special. The village is on the western edge of the Krkonose Mountains, about a hundred kilometers north-east of Prague, and every year, just for a few days in August, some of the Czech Republic's top classical musicians gather there.

The whole country might be absorbed by this latest wave of severe flooding, the papers full of photos of swollen rivers and inundated fields. It's not the first time the Czech Republic has been hit, at least once a decade the country finds itself filling sandbags and wading through muddy water. The difference is now - almost thirteen years after the fall of Communism - the media can report freely on natural disasters such as floods, a far cry from the situation before 1989. Rob Cameron reports.