The Czech Republic was hit by wide-scale flooding across the country this weekend, with the most severe conditions seen in the Moravia-Silesia Region and the north of the Olomouc Region. Most rainfall was seen in the Jeseniky, Beskydy and Krkonoše mountains. Large-scale evacuations were required in Krnov, Opava, Cesky Tesin and Bohumin, among others.
In Opava, on the river of the same name, 100-year peak flows were observed; thousands of residents had to leave their homes and some villages were completely cut off from the outside world due to flooded roads. The Katerinky housing estate in Opava was inundated when the river overflowed. Firefighters were using boats to rescue people who had not yet left. The mountain village of Mala Upa in the eastern Krkonoše was inaccessible due to landslides. Extreme flood emergencies were declared for two places in South Moravia, and water was overflowing from the Husinec and Rimov reservoirs in South Bohemia.
Around 260,000 households in the country were without power on Sunday morning due to the bad weather, with hundreds of faults reported on high-voltage lines. By 6pm, around half of these had been reconnected; the majority of those still without power were in the Moravia-Silesia Region (76,000 households) and the Olomouc Region (29,000). There was also widespread disruption on roads and railways, with transport operators urging their passengers to postpone their journeys if possible.
Firefighters in the Olomouc Region had evacuated about 1,900 residents as of yesterday afternoon, and had to use boats in some rescue operations. The inhabitants of Bohuslavice and Lestina in the Sumperk area were evacuated overnight on Saturday due to flooding on the Morava River. Several hundred inhabitants of Ceska Ves in Jesenice and neighbouring Pisecna also had to leave their homes, though according to local mayors, many residents refused the evacuation order, leaving hundreds of people in flooded houses.
By the afternoon, Krnov in Moravia-Silesia, a town of 23,000 people in the foothills of the Jeseniky mountains, was completely cut off from the outside world. Regional Governor Josef Belica told CTK that the region and the fire service had sent an aid convoy to the town with food and drinking water, brought by Tatra trucks that can drive through deep water. “We are not forgetting Krnov. If the water continues to rise, we are ready to evacuate the entire town,” the governor added.
Krnov’s Deputy Mayor Miroslav Binar (ANO) estimated that 70-80% of the town was under water, and the situation was much more serious than previous devastating floods in 1997. He said water was approaching the designated evacuation centres, which would themselves have to be evacuated, adding that the city could no longer effectively help its residents, so was relying on outside help.
Elsewhere, part of the D55 motorway in the Zlin Region was closed due to flooding on Sunday morning. The D1 motorway was impassable at Bohumin in the Karvina area, and was already closed around Ostrava by Saturday night. Dozens of sections of railways were closed around the country, most of all in the Moravia-Silesia Region, where railway transport was almost paralysed.
At a press conference yesterday following a meeting of the Central Flood Commission, Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Interior Minister Vit Rakusan asked citizens to heed calls to evacuate during the current floods; Fiala told CNN Prima News later that the situation should not be underestimated.
Rakusan (STAN) noted that in Karlovice, a helicopter was rescuing people who had refused to evacuate from rooftops and attics. He appealed for the public to be reasonable and not cause unnecessary work for firefighters and emergency rescue services. He said that a precautionary evacuation is better than people needing the help of a rescue helicopter in bad weather conditions, as there was a great demand for emergency services in many parts of the country.
He said the same applied to those attempting to enjoy the stormy waters by engaging in leisure activities such as paddleboarding. Firefighters and police officers rescued a man from the Vltava River in Prague yesterday who wanted to swim in the swollen river.
Environment Minister Petr Hladik (KDU-CSL) said that four people were missing, one in the Uherske Hradiste area, and three in the Jeseniky area who were unaccounted for after their vehicle was washed into a waterway.
The Central Flood Commission has asked citizens who want to show solidarity with the affected areas to direct any material donations through the Czech Federation of Food Banks. The firefighters currently do not have the capacity to coordinate aid, but they can transport it. According to Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny (KDU-CSL), bottled drinking water is starting to run out in the affected areas.
In South Moravia, villages along the Velička River around Hodonín were partially flooded, including Velka nad Velička and Kněždub. According to Governor Jan Grolich, there was also serious flooding of roads and properties at Podhradí nad Dyjí near Znojmo.
Antonín Tůma from Povodí Morava said that the heavy rainfall in Austria and in the Dyje basin, causing sharp rises in water levels in the tributaries of the Vranovská Dam, was very unfavourable for South Moravia. Grolich noted that precipitation in the vicinity of the Vranovská dam was almost twice that predicted by meteorologists on Saturday morning.
Water managers will gradually increase the outflow from the Vranovská dam to 150 and then up to 220 cubic metres of water per second, which Tůma said was the maximum possible.
According to estimates from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ), water levels at the Vranovská dam, Podhradí, Židlochovice, Veselí nad Moravou and Břeclav will start receding only on Thursday, 19 September.
Until then, firefighters are building preventive barriers in Veselí na Moravou and strengthening the dam of the river Svratka in Vojkovice (Židlochovice).
According to Povodí Morava’s estimates, the Brno Dam should be filled today, and outflow from the reservoir will therefore increase to around 90 m 3/s, which could cause minor overflows into gardens in Jundrov, Komín, and Komárov. No residences are thought to be at risk.
The Svratka river in Židlochovice was declared to be at the third level of risk. According to forecasts, the river could rise to a maximum height of 530 centimetres, though according to Grolich, the river should have reached its peak yesterday morning, holding below five metres. Rajhradice and Opatovice were the main settlements at risk.
Anti-flood bags were produced by firefighters and volunteers at the Brno Exhibition Grounds. According to Brno Mayor Marketa Vankova, more anti-flood bags were made than needed, and all districts had sufficient supplies, then shared with other municipalities in South Moravia.
On Monday, according to the forecast of meteorologists, rain will continue in the south of Moravia. “It doesn’t look 50 millimetres anymore, but it could be up to 30 millimetres,” added Grolich. “However, the area is completely saturated and even minor rainfall could bring us problems, so we have to prepare for that. We must also be prepared for the fact that a large amount of water will flow from Jeseníky into the Morava River, a large amount will flow from Bečva.”
In Brno, in the early evening of Sunday, police officers had to rescue a 36-year-old man who fell into the Svitava river at Mlýnské nábřeží when the river’s bank suddenly gave way, according to Jakub Ghanem, spokesman for the Brno Municipal Police. After treatment, the paramedics took him to St. Anne’s University Hospital.
