Water levels on the Vltava and Labe rivers, which became swollen last week after heavy rainfall, are continuing to fall. However, with storms and persistent rain due until Tuesday, the risk of flooding remains in some parts of Bohemia. Local authorities have been ordered to keep flood defences in place and there have been warnings that some places already inundated could be affected again, with the saturated terrain making flash floods a possibility.
At the same time, thousands of people evacuated last week have been returning home. Ten deaths were recorded in connection with last week’s floods and material damages have been put at billions of crowns.
The Czech Army on Sunday doubled the number of troops deployed to help deal with the effects of flooding in several parts of Bohemia. Some 340 soldiers are now assisting in cleanup operations and other work, such as the building of a humanitarian centre to accommodate evacuees and rescue workers, a spokesperson for the General Staff said. Hundreds more troops will be deployed when water levels recede further in the Ústí nad Labem region, which has been one of the areas hardest hit by flooding.
Prague’s transport authority reopened all of the stations in the city’s metro system at 15:00 on Sunday. The metro’s operators had previously said they would open on Monday the remaining stations closed since the threat of flooding began last week. An official said the authority wished to accommodate people returning to the capital after the weekend. Flood-prevention barriers will remain in the vestibules of some stations.
Alongside CZK 4 billion already earmarked for dealing with the impact of the floods, the government will release more funding for that purpose, the Prime Minister Petr Nečas said on a TV debate show on Sunday. Mr. Nečas said that would not necessitate an increase in taxation, special budgetary measures or exceeding the state budget deficit set for this year. Alongside the CZK 4 billion mentioned, the government said last week it was setting aside CZK 1.3 billion from the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure for post-flood projects.
Prime Minister Nečas says he believes agreement will be reached between President Miloš Zeman and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg over the appointment of ambassadors. Speaking on Sunday, Mr. Nečas said in the past compromises had been reached between the head of state, the PM and the foreign minister on naming envoys, adding that the dispute appeared trivial in the light of the flood situation.
Mr. Zeman and Mr. Schwarzenberg (who the former defeated in presidential elections) have been at loggerheads for some time over the president’s wish to see Livia Klausová, the wife of his predecessor, named ambassador to Bratislava, and Communist MEP Vladimír Remek made ambassador to Russia.
Nearly 20,000 fans attended a charity testimonial game for former Czech soccer international Marek Jankulovski at Ostrava’s Bazaly stadium on Saturday. Members of the Czech squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2004, of which the left back/winger was a member, lined up against a selection that included some of his former teammates from AC Milan, including Gennaro Gattuso. Jankulovski, 36, won the 2007 Champions League and one Serie A title with Milan and scored 11 times in 77 games for the Czech national team.
The Czech Hydro-meteorological Institute says the next 30 days will see above-average rainfall for the time of year in the Czech Republic. Relatively high rainfall is expected in the period from June 17 to June 23 in particular. The coming week should be the warmest period in the coming month, while the average temperature at around the end of the month will be 17 degrees Celsius.
It should be fair with some rain or storms in the coming days. Temperatures will reach up to 24 degrees Celsius.
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