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Czech meteorologists have issued flood warnings for the Regions of Liberec and Ústí nad Labem, where heavy rainfall is expected on Sunday. Alerts have also been issued for the regions of Moravia-Silesia. Current forecasts for the mountain regions expect between 25 and 110 mm of rain between Sunday and Monday. Meteorologists say there is a chance of level one inundation levels in isolated cases.

Prague’s leafy central suburb of Karlín may best be known outside of the Czech Republic for the devastating floods that laid ruin to it in 2002, but much of the world has been using the machines and products born of Karlín factories for more than a hundred years and aside from that it is also Prague’s oldest suburb – a point recalled by an exhibition being held this year at the City Museum in Prague that was created by historian Dr. Zdeněk Míka:

In this edition of Spotlight we visit Veltrusy Chateau, a gorgeous summer estate found north of the Czech capital. Founded in the 1700s by Czech nobleman Václav Antonín Chotek, Veltrusy is far from an obvious destination, but is well-worth a day-trip. The castle grounds boast a 300 hectare park along the Vltava River, with numerous paths leading among ancient trees to pavilions, a bridge or two and various monuments. Then of course, there is the chateau itself, highly valued as a gem of Baroque architecture.

The European Parliament has approved that over five million euros, or 122 million Czech crowns, from the EU’s solidarity fund be granted to northern Moravia, which was badly struck by floods last fall. The Czech government estimates that the damage caused by the floods is in excess of 204 million euros. Another 10.9 million euros, or 266 million Czech crowns, in recovery aid are still pending approval by the European Parliament.

The Czech Republic is set to receive 10.9 million euros, or 266 million crowns, from the EU’s Solidarity Fund to help pay for damages caused by floods in August 2010, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The funds are earmarked for the reconstruction of infrastructure in northern Bohemia, the region worst hit by the flooding. The release of the funds is yet to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The damages caused by the flooding are estimated at over 10.5 billion crowns.

The Commission had earlier decided to release another 125 million crowns from the fund to help cover the damages caused by last May’s flooding as well. The EU’s Solidarity Fund was set up after the floods of 2002 that hit the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and other countries in the region.

The European Commission has threatened to file a complaint against the Czech Republic and fine it for its failure to have flood prevention legislation enshrined in its law. The Environment Ministry said the warning came as it was about to fulfil Brussels’ demands with new legislation to be ready on Thursday. Neighbouring Austria is facing the same problem. According to the Commission statement, neither Prague nor Vienna had informed Brussels about the full adoption of EU standards as demanded by EU rules. The spokesman for the Czech ministry said its regulation would take effect on March 4, 2011.

The district court in Liberec on Monday sentenced Ondřej Riedl to 3.5 years in prison for a theft committed in the village of Chrastava last August. The 25-year-old, who pleaded guilty, noticed 45,000 crowns (around 2.5 thousand US dollars) in flood relief funds while visiting a family he knew personally and was supposed to help. Instead, he disappeared with the money. After his arrest, Mr Reidl told police he had spent part of the funds gambling on slot machines and the rest on paying off a debt. Along with serving his sentence, the man will also have to pay for damages.

Water levels continued to fallback from danger levels on Czech rivers on Monday. The highest, level three, warnings were in force at six sites on Monday morning. Half of these were on the Elbe river, at Mělnik, Ústí nad Labem and Děčíň, where river levels are still rising. Roads are still cut in Ústí nad Labem as a result. Experts say that the river levels there could rise by a further half metre but should then recede. The floods claimed their first victim on Saturday when a canoeist was drowned after his boat capsized on the river Bystřice near Olomouc.

Water levels are continuing to retreat from danger levels across the Czech Republic on Sunday. The highest, level three, flood warnings were in force at eight points on Sunday afternoon compared with 14 the day before. The most threatened areas remain in the western Plzeň region and along stretches of the Elbe including at Mělnik, Ústí nad Labem and Děčíň. The situation at an overflowing reservoir around 20 kilometres west of Plzeň started to ease on Saturday night with water levels receding. There had been fears that more water would have to be released from the dam creating a serious surge downstream.

The highest level three flood warnings were in force at 13 points and four regions across the Czech Republic on Saturday afternoon. The four worst hit regions are Plzeň, the Karlovy Vary region, Central Bohemia and the Ústí region. Overall, water levels are mostly falling at the upper reaches of rivers and climbing downriver.

The situation of a reservoir around 20 kilometres outside the western city of Plzeň is being closely watched. There, water levels have reached critical levels with authorities having to evacuate as much water out of the reservoir as entering it. There is a risk that even more water will have to be released causing a surge in rivers already at danger levels downstream. People were evacuated from holiday homes on the Berounka river at Černošice, west of Prague, late on Friday. A level two flood warning is expected to be declared for the capital, Prague, on Saturday as the Vltava continues to rise.