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Water levels have receded further in South Bohemia following some of the worst flooding the region has experienced in recent history. On Friday, a spokesperson for the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said that the situation was improving in the region, which has seen flooding cause millions of crowns worth of damage in the past week. On Friday, there were more storms in South Bohemia, but rivers continued to subside, Tomáš Vlasák said. Flash floods in North Moravia and South Bohemia killed 14 people last week, and left hundreds of households cut off without electricity and gas. Around 1,000 soldiers were deployed to help emergency services rescue people from the floods and get the clean-up operation underway.

Meteorologists are issuing further storm warnings for the weekend. Forecasters expect from two to four days of heavy rains and hail, accompanied by strong winds, across the entire country, focusing on Bohemia on Saturday and Moravia on Sunday. Intermittent but heavy storms over the last two weeks have caused flash floods around the Czech Republic, particularly in the frequently inundated regions of the south and east of the country. A number of villages have been evacuated due to the floods and there have been at least 14 deaths. The latest victim was the captain of a local fire brigade, who was working on a bridge when it was swept away.

Large-scale cleanup operations are underway in South Bohemia as flood waters abate. Local firemen and charity organisations are being assisted by the Czech army in the initial work of clearing debris, purifying waterways and repairing roads. More than 500 homes have been inundated in South Bohemia, and the region has estimated total damages in the hundreds of millions of crowns.

Meanwhile, the bill for the disaster continues to rise as the damages are assessed; the first estimate puts the cost at roughly six billion crowns. The primary Czech charity organisations have reported that they have received some 40 million crowns from donors to cover the immediate needs of the victims. The government is promising another 500 million.

Inhabitants of north Moravia are again being evacuated from their homes amidst new warnings of floods. Households in the villages of Vlkovice and Stachovice are being evacuated by the local emergency services as some roads in the region are becoming unusable due to rising water levels. One week ago, devastating flash floods hit a different part of North Moravia, causing millions of crowns worth of damage and killing 13.

The Czech Agrarian Chamber says that damages to crops and livestock caused by the recent floods will cost Czech farmers 200 million crowns (10.9 million USD). According to the association’s vice president, Jindřich Šnejdrla, around 40,000 hectares of Czech farmland have been damaged, while 500 hectares have been destroyed. Nearly 800 farm animals have died as a consequence of the floods, which struck predominantly North Moravia and South Bohemia late last week.

Water levels of swollen rivers have begun falling across the country. Flood warnings were still in force at two sites in southern Bohemia on Tuesday with heavy rain overnight increasing fears of fresh floods. Forecasters have warned of more heavy rain and storms especially in the south and east of the country. Prague began erecting flood barriers on Sunday. South Bohemia was the latest region to be hit by floods which have claimed 13 lives nationwide. Floods hit the region on Sunday with over 800 people evacuated, power cut and transport disrupted. Across the country, around 700 soldiers are helping in the clean up operation.

Town halls in the flooded region of central and north Moravia have begun distributing aid money among flood victims. The sum of 20 thousand crowns per household is intended for basic necessities in the days immediately following the disaster. More aid money will be made available from regional and government coffers. A preliminary damage estimate has been put at over 5 billion crowns, and the government has said it is prepared to increase the state deficit in order to deal with the consequences.

The weather is the subject on the tip of everyone’s tongue just now following violent floods over the last week in the Czech Republic. Forecasters warn that there is still a risk of storms causing more deaths and damage. But just how exceptional has the recent weather been and is climate change partly to blame?

Water levels of swollen rivers began falling across the country on Monday. The highest level flood warnings were in force at two sites in southern Bohemia on Monday afternoon. Just under 700 soldiers are helping with the clean-up operations. But forecasters have warned of more heavy rain and storms especially in the south and east of the country. Prague began erecting flood barriers on Sunday. South Bohemia was the latest region to be hit by floods which have claimed at least 13 lives. Floods hit the region on Sunday with over 800 people evacuated, power cut and transport disrupted.