Highest warning level: Thousands are being evacuated in the Czech Republic.

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The authorities announced on Saturday evening that thousands of people had to be evacuated to safety in Opava on the border with Poland. Among those affected is the city’s largest prefabricated housing estate. The river of the same name, Opava, a tributary of the Oder, was already overflowing its banks in some places. A flood of the century, or even a stronger flood than in 1997, was feared.

Hundreds of people also had to leave their homes in other places in the region. According to the police, several people were missing. Near Jesenik in the Jesenik Mountains, a car plunged into a raging river. One occupant managed to escape to the shore, but there was no trace of three others. In Jankovice, a 54-year-old man fell into a flooding stream during clean-up work and never resurfaced.

Highest alert level at around 80 gauging stations
The highest flood alert level, “Danger,” was in force at around 80 gauge stations in the Czech Republic. This means that there is a danger to life and limb or a threat of major damage to property. The north-east of the country was particularly affected. A danger level was declared in the administrative regions of Moravia-Silesia and Olomouc (Olomouc). The army provided helicopters for relief operations. Government members met in Prague for another crisis meeting.

As a result of the storm, more than 60,000 households were without power, as the CTK agency reported, citing the energy suppliers. In Brno, more than 180 patients of the Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy had to be evacuated and transferred to other facilities, according to the hospital’s management.

The mayor recommends leaving the city
Rescue services and the fire department helped transport patients. The health facility is located in the flooded area of the Svratka River, whose water level continues to rise. In addition, water entered the basement through the sewage system, where the power supply is located.

Meanwhile, the mayor of the vacation resort of Spindleruv Mlyn (Spindleruv Mlyn) in the Giant Mountains advised all tourists and visitors to leave the town. The Elbe threatened to burst its banks there and flood the only arterial road. Following heavy rainfall, the highest flood alert level was also in force at more than 40 other water level measuring stations in the country.

There were also problems with rail traffic. Trees that had fallen onto the tracks blocked several routes. A replacement bus service was set up between the West Bohemian spa town of Frantiskovy Lazne (Franzensbad) and Bad Brambach in Saxony. The Czech State Railroad (CD) allows travellers to return their tickets for journeys up to Sunday without cancellation fees.

According to the Czech weather service CHMU, 100 to 170 millimetres of precipitation fell in the most affected regions over the past 24 hours. In Mikulovice, in the Jesenik district, masses of water from the surrounding fields flooded houses and roads. The Bela, a tributary of the Glatzer Neiße, also caused problems there. The fire departments erected barriers made of sandbags along numerous bodies of water. Trees fell in many places due to the soaked ground. Several railroad lines were interrupted.

In Prague, preparations for the expected flooding of the Vltava River were in full swing. Flood barriers were to be erected along the banks in other parts of the city, and shipping traffic was suspended. The peak was expected in the Czech capital on Sunday night, with a flow rate of around 1,000 cubic meters of water per second.