Nassau, Germany/Prague:
Chancellor Angela Merkel promised 100 million euros to victims of Germany's worst flood in a decade on Tuesday as she toured areas devastated by the deluge which has claimed 12 lives across central Europe.
Swathes of suburban Prague were submerged but metal barriers along the Vltava river shielded the historic centre as the high water shifted north to eastern Germany. In the German state of Saxony, about 10,000 people were forced from their homes, and thousands more were evacuated in Bavaria.
The 12 deaths have occurred in the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland and Germany since the
weekend.
Forecasters said receding rains would help water levels to drop across the Czech Republic, but that parts of Slovakia and Hungary, as well as Germany, would be affected in coming days.
Conservative Merkel, who faces an election in September and hopes to win a third term, was keen to show she was helping those affected as she visited the Bavarian city of Passau, where soldiers had been piling sandbags and clearing mud.
"Even if the water level is slowly retreating (in Passau), the effects will be felt for a long time," she told reporters gathered around her on a street.
"Therefore 100 million euros of emergency aid is available from the state (of Bavaria) and the federal government. We are splitting it 50:50."
"Now it is a matter of getting the aid quickly to people."
Meteorologists predicted the worst might be over for cities such as Passau but warned of flooding in the historic city of Dresden and nearby Meissen, both devastated when similar floods swept across central Europe in 2002.
In those floods a decade ago, 17 people were killed in the Czech Republic, and damage estimated at 20 billion euros was inflicted.
Czech electricity producer CEZ shut down its Melnik 2 and 3 coal-fired power plants on Tuesday as a preventative action against floods on the Elbe river.
Spolana, a chemical factory in Neratovice, north of Prague, said it had moved dangerous substances to a safe location and shut down all production.
Swathes of suburban Prague were submerged but metal barriers along the Vltava river shielded the historic centre as the high water shifted north to eastern Germany. In the German state of Saxony, about 10,000 people were forced from their homes, and thousands more were evacuated in Bavaria.
The 12 deaths have occurred in the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland and Germany since the
weekend.
Forecasters said receding rains would help water levels to drop across the Czech Republic, but that parts of Slovakia and Hungary, as well as Germany, would be affected in coming days.
Conservative Merkel, who faces an election in September and hopes to win a third term, was keen to show she was helping those affected as she visited the Bavarian city of Passau, where soldiers had been piling sandbags and clearing mud.
"Even if the water level is slowly retreating (in Passau), the effects will be felt for a long time," she told reporters gathered around her on a street.
"Therefore 100 million euros of emergency aid is available from the state (of Bavaria) and the federal government. We are splitting it 50:50."
"Now it is a matter of getting the aid quickly to people."
Meteorologists predicted the worst might be over for cities such as Passau but warned of flooding in the historic city of Dresden and nearby Meissen, both devastated when similar floods swept across central Europe in 2002.
In those floods a decade ago, 17 people were killed in the Czech Republic, and damage estimated at 20 billion euros was inflicted.
Czech electricity producer CEZ shut down its Melnik 2 and 3 coal-fired power plants on Tuesday as a preventative action against floods on the Elbe river.
Spolana, a chemical factory in Neratovice, north of Prague, said it had moved dangerous substances to a safe location and shut down all production.
© Thomson Reuters 2013
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