Flooding occurred in Germany’s eastern neighbours Poland and the Czech Republic after persistent rain during the night. Emergency services in both countries, as well as in Austria and Slovakia, had already prepared for severe weather on Friday. The heavy rainfall east of the Elbe and Spree is also expected to cause the water levels of the Elbe in Saxony to rise.
The Schöna gauge may reach alarm level 1 on Saturday evening, and Dresden is expected to reach it early on Sunday morning, as the Saxon State Flood Center announced in a warning. The highest water levels at the Saxon Elbe gauges are currently expected from Wednesday and Thursday of next week.
That is why time is of the essence for the demolition work on the collapsed part of Dresden’s Carola Bridge. “We are running out of time,” said fire department spokesman Michael Klahre on Friday evening. A specialist company is working around the clock to remove the debris. The plan is to clear the entire area of bridge section C, with the exception of the section that collapsed into the river early on Wednesday morning. This is to prevent subsequent damage from the impending flood. According to current information, the work should be completed by Sunday evening.
For Saxony, the German Weather Service (DWD) reported early Saturday morning that the persistent rain is expected to subside by Saturday afternoon. The night into Sunday is therefore expected to remain largely rain-free. According to the forecast, rain will then begin again on Sunday.
Heavy rain in the Czech Republic
The reason for the Elbe swelling is reportedly heavy rainfall in the Elbe and Vltava catchment area in the Czech Republic. In Germany’s neighbouring country, the third flood alert level “danger” has been declared for around 20 rivers and streams, the CTK news agency reported.
Elsewhere, sudden heavy rain caused flooding. Czech television broadcast footage from the village of Mikulovice near the Polish border. There, you can see how the water flooded houses, garages and streets in the early morning.
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“The water flowed down into the village from the surrounding fields,” it was said. The fire brigade offered the residents the opportunity to seek safety in the local gymnasium. However, so far no one has taken advantage of this.
In the southern Bohemian town of Budweis (Ceske Budejovice), firefighters have been erecting flood protection walls since Friday evening. They loaded sandbags onto the Maltsch River and erected a prefabricated barrier on the banks of the Vltava.
According to meteorologists, river levels in the Czech Republic will continue to rise over the weekend. In some places, 50 to 110 litres of rain per square metre has already fallen since Friday.
Two villages in Poland evacuated
The situation is also serious in southwest Poland. In the Opole region, the Biala Glucholaska river overflowed its banks. 400 residents had to be brought to safety from the village of Glucholazy near the Czech border. Interior Minister Tomasz Simoniak was on site and posted pictures of the rescue workers’ work on X.
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One hundred firefighters and 60 police officers were deployed in the village, wrote Simoniak. Some residents also had to be evacuated from the village of Morow because the river Mora had overflowed its banks. In total, the fire department carried out 400 operations in the region.
The Meteorological Institute expects continued rainfall. The alarm level has already been exceeded at 35 water measuring stations, the institute reported on X.
Snow line in the Alps is falling
For Germany, the German Weather Service predicted heavy, continuous rain in the Alps and the eastern low mountain ranges. In the Alps above 1,200 meters, the precipitation will come down as snow. At altitudes above 2,000 meters, around one meter of fresh snow is possible. That is “somewhat unusual” for this time of year, said a DWD spokesman. At night, the snow line could drop to around 1,000 meters.
The fact that there will be snow instead of rain at higher altitudes will have a “flood-dampening effect” from the perspective of the flood intelligence service. Nevertheless, increased water levels are to be expected in southeast Bavaria – from the Isar catchment area to Berchtesgadener Land and the Bavarian Forest.
Austria expects 300 litres of rain in some areas
In Austria, weather experts are expecting massive amounts of rain with flooding and landslides in the coming days. According to the state meteorological institute Geosphere Austria, more than 300 liters of rain per square meter could fall in parts of Lower Austria and Upper Austria by Tuesday.
Emergency services are preparing for flooding along the Danube in Austria, which occurs approximately every 10 to 15 years. Among other things, mobile flood protection systems have been set up and sandbags have been filled.
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