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The head of the Morava River basin water management company, Miroslav Konecny, has been sacked. Mr Konecny was dismissed by Agriculture Minister Jan Mladek on Friday after several municipalities affected by the floods complained that they were left in the dark about rising water levels. Konecny will be replaced on Saturday by copany vice president for finances Pavel Mylbachr.

What started out as local spring floods three days ago are now a major cause for concern around the country. Many towns and villages in Moravia, that's the eastern part of the Czech Republic, are underwater. In the southern town of Znojmo ten thousand people have been evacuated from their homes. The floods have already claimed four lives and meteorologists warn that the situation may worsen because of continuing rain.

The capital city is also on alert. Work continued through the night to reinforce river banks and secure flood defences. Several museums have moved their exhibits to other venues and Prague Zoo has taken its gorillas out of the pavilion, though no animals have been evacuated. With water levels of the River Vltava rising steadily, Mayor Pavel Bem inspected the metro's security system and assured Prague residents that the city is well prepared for the threat of flooding.

Over forty municipalities around the country are still on high flood alert, as their rivers swell due to rain and melted snow, the Czech Hydro-meteorological Institute has announced. The worst affected area is Moravia's Znojmo region around the River Dyje, where over 10,000 people have been evacuated. Local authorities say another 20,000 may have to leave their homes if things get worse. The northern city Usti nad Labem, and several other towns and villages in the region, have also begun evacuating residents with disabilities.

Four years ago the Czech Republic was hit by massive floods which led to mass evacuations and millions in lost property - now, at least in parts of the country, it's happening again. Wednesday evening with the Dyje River rising to dangerous levels, the town of Znojmo in south Moravia ordered the evacuation of more than ten thousand inhabitants.

Rivers in the Czech Republic are continuing to rise, with around 70 places in the country on high flood alert. The worst affected areas are in the Znojmo region, on the River Luznice in south Bohemia and on the River Morava in the Zlin region. Fire fighters and the army are working around the clock to try to deal with the situation.

One person has died: a five-year-old boy fell into a stream and drowned near Trebic on Tuesday evening.

The Spolana chemical plant in Neratovice, central Bohemia has shut down production, after a high flood alert was declared in the area. Tens of tonnes of poisonous chemicals escaped from the plant during floods in 2002.

There were fears that animals would have to be moved from the lower part of Prague Zoo, but officials say it now seems such an evacuation will not be necessary.

After one of the longest winters on record, weather is again the source of problems in the Czech Republic. The brutal cold finally gave way to warmer temperatures this week, bringing record high temperatures on Monday. However, this dramatic change has led to high water levels in many areas of the Czech Republic, including Prague, where the devastating 2002 floods are still fresh in people's minds.

Towns and villages across the Czech Republic are battling with local floods, as a result of melting snow and persistent rain. The north, south and eastern parts of the country have been hit and the army has been called in to help the worst affected areas. Two villages in the north have had to be evacuated, one of them counting 500 inhabitants. In other places firemen are pumping water from cellars and gardens. People have been filling sandbags and erecting makeshift barriers to try to protect their property. Several roads have had to be closed down. 3,000 firemen and 900 soldiers are in the field, and Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said another 800 were on standby should the situation worsen.

The Czech capital Prague is likewise on flood alert and there are preparations to offset a small scale flood. The area between Charles Bridge and Lichtenstein Palace is being cleared out for the erection of anti-flood barriers and Prague's Troja Zoo is preparing for a possible evacuation of 1,000 animals.

Melting snow and persistent rain have resulted in small local floods in some parts of the country. A number of villages in the southern, western and eastern parts of the country are on flood alert as water levels are expected to continue rising on Tuesday due to significantly warmer temperatures. Rain has been forecast for most of this week.

Fire brigades in central Bohemia were busy pumping water out of numerous flooded homes on Thursday. With the ground still frozen, some 95 percent of fast-melting snow and rain is not absorbed and stays above ground. Meteorologists warn of worse flooding as they expect temperatures to rise quickly.