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A fresh wave of heavy rain is prolonging the flood situation in the Czech Republic. Storms on Sunday caused minor flash floods and the inundation of a small number of homes in several regions. The forecast is for more persistent rain between now and early on Tuesday and local authorities have been ordered to keep flood defences in place. Flooding, which has been particularly bad in North Bohemia, began about a week ago. Floodwater contaminated 80 public waterways, 9000 wells and dozens of water treatment plants. Some 34,000 people still have to get drinking water from outside of their homes.

The acting mayor of Prague, Tomáš Hudeček, on Monday called off a state of emergency for the Czech capital, more than a week after emergency measures were introduced. A flood alert is still in place for the city, although water levels and flow rate have gone down considerably over the weekend. Due to heavy rain on Sunday and expected rain in the first half of the week, the water level in the Vltava River may not go down as quickly as originally expected.

Flood-relate damages to the agriculture sector are estimated to be at least 1.8 billion crowns, according to the Czech Agrarian Chamber. The overall figure could be much higher since the estimate does not include losses to the fishing industry. In 2002, farmers around the Czech Republic suffered damages of more than 3.5 billion crowns. Some 55 thousand hectares of land were flooded in the past week, which most of all affecting vegetable growers. Many farmers were getting ready to harvest many of their crops, which are now effectively destroyed. This will most likely cause prices of local produce to rise this year.

As water recedes in most places that were flooded during the past week, volunteers are beginning to help with the clean-up efforts. A number of humanitarian NGOs are coordinating hundreds of volunteers who are helping clean up homes and public spaces that were damaged by water. People are also making donations to special emergency drives that the organizations have set up to aid with the relief efforts and help those affected. Charities and NGOs have so far collected at least 25 million crowns.

The weekend brought no respite for the thousands of people evacuated from their homes in last week’s devastating floods. Torrential rain and hailstorms swept through central and north Bohemia causing flash floods in places previously considered safe and complicating clean-up work in areas where water-levels had been receding.

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.

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.

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.

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 Republic’s Central Flood Commission has warned that more flooding may occur around the country as storms are forecast for the coming days. Speaking after a commission meeting on Saturday, Prime Minister Petr Nečas said that land was still saturated in many areas and further flooding could occur very quickly, perhaps in places that have just been inundated. He also said there was a danger of landslides. Almost a week after flooding began in several parts of Bohemia, Mr. Nečas said the good news was the country was functioning well. Nearly 20,000 people were evacuated last week and 10 people died, while material damage has been estimated in the billions of crowns.