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As the country struggles to deal with the damage caused by last week's devastating floods, people face plenty of secondary problems. Telecommunications and transport remain crippled. Getting through to anyone on the phone is a major challenge, getting somewhere in person even more so.

A 12-year-old seal named Gaston made international headlines when he escaped from Prague zoo during last week's floods, swimming around 120 kilometres in five days, before being recaptured north of Dresden in Germany. Unfortunately, the seal died on Tuesday while being transported back to Prague, evidently from shock and exhaustion; his death was sadly typical of the misfortune which has befallen Prague zoo over the last week. Ian Willoughby has more.

The Czech government has made public an official preliminary estimate of damage caused by the sweeping floods - 60 to 90 billion Czech crowns which is approximately 2 to 3 billion USD. The catastrophe changed the lives of thousands upon thousands across the country. Many people are asking why, and are refusing to put all the blame on an unfortunate and unprecedented meteorological situation. More from Vladimir Tax.

Water levels throughout the Czech Republic are falling and the country is now busy cleaning up the devastation that the catastrophic floods left behind. In the flood-hit areas, thousands are working day and night pumping water out of basements, removing mud and debris - that may even include dead animals - out of buildings and drying furniture. Despite all the effort, however, it is expected to take months before life will be back to normal and as people clear out their houses, hygienists warn of a high risk of infection. Earlier today, Radio Prague

A week after devastating floods swept through the Czech Republic, life in the country is slowly returning to normal. Thousands of people have returned from evacuation shelters to clean up their homes, take stock of their circumstances and learn to live with their losses. But not everyone has a home to come back to.

As the water in the Czech Republic has been receding, it may take two weeks before all the damages to both private and public property are assessed. However, one thing is clear - the devastating floods over the past two weeks caused more damage than the previous biggest floods in modern Czech history, five years ago. Although the total losses have not been established yet, government representatives say it will be necessary to revise next year's state budget priorities, including a purchase of modern supersonic fighter jets for the Czech Air Force.

It's still too early to put a final figure on the damage done by this week's severe floods, as many towns and cities across the country remain underwater. The country's infrastructure has suffered considerable damage, with roads washed away, bridges swept into the river, factories and power stations flooded. Here in Prague it was announced that the metro system has been so badly affected, it could be months before it's running normally again. Rob Cameron has more.

As water levels recede, revealing the enormity of the destruction wrought by the devastating floods that swept through the Czech Republic, offers of help have started pouring in from around the world. Daniela Lazarova has more :

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.

Now that the floods are beginning to recede in at least some parts of the country, experts are beginning to tally up the cost of damages, already estimated at over 2 billion dollars. The big question on everyone's mind now is whether victims in the flooded regions were properly covered before the disaster. Although the country's insurance companies have been overwhelmed by a large number of claims, the answer is no. Many of those whose property has been damaged by the unexpected floods, viewed flood insurance as an unnecessary waste of money. The