Flood 2024, Hungary. The flood wave reaches Budapest

The Danube's flood wave is sweeping through Budapest. The river peaked on Saturday morning, when it reached 830 centimetres, the state meteorological service HungaroMet said. That's 61 centimetres less than during the record flood in 2013.

Although the wave is lower than expected, it is very extended. This means that the high level of the river will remain longer than predicted.

In the capital of Hungary, the banks of the Danube were flooded. Earlier, Margaret Island, located on the river in the central part of the city, with numerous tourist attractions, was closed.

The city is protected from the great flood not only by newly built fortifications, but also by structures that were built many years ago. However, experts warn that although they are very high, even there there may be places that require protection.

After heavy rainfall, some rivers in Hungary overflowed, flooding some towns. The level in Lithuania remains very high, although the water has been slowly falling since Friday.

– The country will have five more difficult days of flood protection ahead – he said at a press conference on Saturday Hungarian Viktor Orban. The peak of the Danube surge is expected to reach the city of Baja in the southern part of the country, near the border with Croatia and Serbia, on Monday.

The rescue services are appealing to citizens not to go on trips to the areas of flood embankments and temporary fortifications. This is due to the risk of them breaking and the need to ensure complete freedom of action for rescuers. It turns out that “flood tourists” walking on the embankments have often prevented people responsible for securing them from working.