Floods in the Czech Republic. A reassuring message

Previous forecasts indicated that the peak flow on the Oder was to reach about two thousand cubic meters per second. However, current data indicate that it will be lower.

– Now these forecasts have been refined and the peak flow is currently estimated at 1,500 to 1,600 cubic meters per second, said Povodi Odra spokeswoman Szarka Vlczkova.

The Odra reaches the Czech-Polish border at Starý Bohumín, is a border river for a while, and from the mouth of the Olza it flows through Polish territory. The peak wave is expected to arrive at midnight on Sunday.

The spokeswoman assured that Povodi Odry does not discharge any water from the dams under its administration.

– We are not releasing anything from the dams at the moment, because we are retaining all the water in them. This means that the huge masses of water that flow into the Odra come from the Opava River and from the rain that is still falling, Vlczkova explained.

She added that there is still room in the retention reservoirs on the Czech side for the rain. A similar assurance is published on the official website of Povodi Odry.

According to meteorologists, it will still rain in the Czech Republic on Monday, but the precipitation is expected to be lower than at the weekend. The water level will rise the most in the Jeseník, Karniov, Opava, Ostrava and Beskid regions, but in some of these areas it has stopped raining or the precipitation is much less intense than in recent days. Despite the evacuations and flooded towns and settlements in the Moravian-Silesian region, the situation seems to be improving. The level of the Opava River in the city of Opava, as well as in Karniov, has reached its maximum.

In Opava, the level has not been rising for several hours. In Karnow, which was 80 percent flooded, it has begun to fall. However, four patients connected to ventilators had to be evacuated from the local hospital by helicopter. In the city bordering Poland, there is no electricity and no mobile signal.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said earlier on Sunday that the worst of the flood situation was not over yet. He added that the level of some rivers had not yet reached its peak and that the Czechs would still have to deal with a difficult situation.

– The worst is not behind us – emphasized Petr Fiala and announced that an extraordinary meeting of the Czech government will be held on Monday at 6 p.m.

In the Czech Republic, four people are wanted after being carried away by raging rivers.

In the Jeseníky Mountains, in the north of the country, a car with four people drove into the Staržič River in the Lipova commune. One person got out of the vehicle, while the others were carried away by the river. The police treat three people as missing and wanted.

A 54-year-old man who was cleaning the area around his house near Jankovicki Potok, a tributary of the Morava River, has a similar missing person status. The man could not be pulled out of the rising water.

Firefighters and local government officials point out that many people are ignoring the information about the evacuation. Hundreds of people are staying in flooded homes. Firefighters are appealing for participation in the evacuation, because after the situation worsens, they often have to return to the same places, but in much more dangerous conditions. It is possible that this issue will be discussed at Sunday's meeting of the central flood commission. According to energy experts, about 200,000 customers had no electricity on Sunday morning, 114,000 of whom were in the Moravian-Silesian region. The wind and flooded tracks caused train traffic to be interrupted on one of the main railway routes in the Czech Republic between Ostrava and Olomouc. This route is used by, among others, trains to Poland. Around 40 connections have been cancelled throughout the country.

In the flood areas, houses began to fall apart under the pressure of the water. Such cases were confirmed by the mayor of Jeseník, Zdenka Blisztanova. The city is practically cut off from the world.

Even fire and rescue vehicles cannot pass through the flooded roads. A Black Hawks military helicopter has been sent to the area to evacuate people and deliver supplies.

The authorities of the Czech Republic Cieszyn decided on Sunday morning to start evacuating the district located near the rising Olza River. The evacuation is preventive, the river is still in its bed.

– The evacuation concerns several thousand people. We assume that some of them will go to a safe place to their loved ones. Others are to move to the primary school on Śląska Street. We are also preparing other evacuation centers – said city spokeswoman Natasza Cibulkova. The level of the Olza River in Český Těšín has increased by almost three meters in the last 24 hours. The flow of water intensified after midnight. The first level of the flood alarm was in force there from 1 a.m. The third was announced an hour later. The water in the Olza River is almost five meters high. “In connection with this, the evacuation of residents of houses on Na Olszynach Street and the entire city center has been ordered” – the city hall informed on its Facebook profile. People are to take their evacuation luggage and go to the primary school on Śląska Street.

In total, more than 10.5 thousand inhabitants of endangered areas have already been evacuated throughout the Czech Republic.

The border bridges with the Czech Republic – Wolności and Przyjaźni – have been closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The bridge on the S52 expressway in Boguszowice is open – the police reported on Sunday morning. Flood alarms have been announced in the Bielsk and Cieszyn counties.

The D1 motorway to Ostrava is impassable. Coming from the north, on the Czech side you can only get to the exit to Bohumín. The road is closed beyond that. Roads in the Krkonoše Mountains are also impassable.