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Premier Vladimir Spidla said he would ask the Chamber of Deputies to postpone the deadline for submitting a draft state budget for 2003 until the end of October.

The government has estimated flood damage at between 60 and 90 billion Czech crowns, which is 2 to 3 billion USD.

More than 1,000 Prague residents wearing hygiene masks and rubber gloves were allowed to return briefly to their homes in the flood-ravaged Karlin district on Wednesday. They queued up for hours to be allowed entry into the off-limits district where two chemical defense units are eliminating possible sources of infection such as rotting meat and dead animals. Children and vehicles were forbidden for fear of disease bacteria and undermined roads. Experts assessing the state of the water-damaged buildings in Karlin have ascertained that 40 of them sustained serious structural damage. The houses bear crosses and are slated for demolition.

The damage to the city centre of Cesky Krumlov, a south Bohemian city on UNESCO's cultural heritage list, has been estimated at over 300 million crowns. According to the city hall this estimate does not include damaged buildings and bridges outside of the UNESCO-protected historical centre. UNESCO has promised to help restore the city's cultural legacy and the Czech government has also earmarked funds in aid of Cesky Krumlov. The city's mayor told journalists on Wednesday that although he appreciated concern for the town's cultural legacy his top priority at this point was to help people who had been left homeless.

Meanwhile, hygiene officers are issuing repeated warnings of a heightened threat of infectious diseases in the flood damaged regions. People cleaning out their homes are urged to use plenty of disinfectant, rubber gloves and refrain from snacking on the job. But people working in the hot weather for many hours a day frequently disregard these instructions. Over 20 thousand people are to get vaccines against Hepatitis A, mainly children and people cleaning up the affected areas. In the meantime paramedics are distributing gamma-globulin as a form of protection. The state of emergency declared in several regions has been extended until the end of the month.

Czech hygienists have warned of another threat of infectious diseases as mosquitoes multiply in flood-affected parts of Moravia. Most fears are directed to a lake covering 1,500 hectares of land that has formed in a field between the villages of Hevlin and Novosedly. According to the South Moravian Hygiene Office, dead animals are already floating in the water as the weather gets warmer, creating an ideal breeding environment for insects. With the water levels failing to fall, the warm weather has resulted in decomposition. Residents in the area have been advised to stock up on insect repellent and insert mosquito nets. Despite the hot weather, they are also advised to wear clothing that covers the entire body. After the floods in 1997, residents in the crisis area were plagued by ten mosquito bites a minute.

The U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic has began a tour of flood-affected regions to assess the degree of damage from last week's devastating floods. Mr Craig Stapleton visited the town of Plzen on Tuesday, which bears historic ties with the United States having been liberated by U.S. troops in WWII. He will also be travelling to southern and north Bohemia in the next few days. Speaking to journalists, he promised to get help not only from the U.S. government, but also from firms, foundations, unions, and U.S. citizens. Despite the extensive flood damage that the Czech Republic has suffered, Mr Stapleton was confident in Prague's ability to host the NATO summit in November. In light of the summit, he added, U.S. aid will have to be provided fairly quickly. Whilst the immediate focus is to be on disinfectants, medicine and other material, there will also be other forms of aid such as affordable loans from U.S. banks or insurance companies, and an effective way to reconstruct infrastructure and private property.

Czech Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik said on Tuesday that the Czech Republic will not be sending any more soldiers to Afghanistan for the time being. The reason is the country's lack of finances as much of its budget will have to be used for the rebuilding of the flood-damaged country. Although all Czech soldiers on missions abroad will not be called back, no new units will be sent out. There are currently two hundred medical unit soldiers on a mission in a field hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul. The Czech Republic has also sent a chemical unit to Kuwait to join the international fight against terrorism. The financial strain, however, has been immense forcing the government to dig deep into its budget and acquire a debt of several million Czech crowns.