Thousands Flee Prague as Deadly Floods Persist

Tens of thousands of Czechs fled their historic capital for higher ground Tuesday as torrential rains turned the Vltava River into a menacing cascade, adding to flooding that has killed at least 88 people across Europe.

Churning toward Prague’s Old Town--the heart of the capital and a popular tourist stop--the brown, swollen Vltava inflicted the worst flooding in more than a century on the Czech Republic. Officials said at least nine people had died after more than a week of heavy rainfall.

Water engulfed Prague’s historic Kampa island, flooding architectural gems dating to the Hapsburg Empire. Volunteers gathered around landmarks and scrambled to fill hundreds of sandbags in a desperate bid to save the city’s treasures.

Late Tuesday, cranes worked under floodlights and in pouring rain to pull up crushed boats, barrels and even a refrigerator, and to help the swirling river slip past barriers. Volunteers sprayed plastic foam into the cracks between the sandbags to prevent water from seeping through.

At least 40,000 residents of low-lying areas of Prague--a city of 1.2 million--were ordered to leave their homes Tuesday, and a total of 200,000 were evacuated nationwide, Interior Minister Stanislav Gross said.

The 340-room Intercontinental Hotel and the Four Seasons Hotel evacuated their guests, at the peak of the summer tourist season.

Police evacuated the Old Town early today--a surprise move given that authorities only hours earlier had suggested that flooding risks for the area were diminishing. Police circled the area with bullhorns, ordering residents to move to higher ground.

In neighboring Austria, where at least seven people have died, firefighters and Red Cross volunteers were stacking sandbags to hold back parts of the swollen Danube River, which flooded Vienna’s port and some streets.

The Danube punched through dams in the town of Ybbs in Lower Austria province Tuesday, and emergency workers in hip boots gingerly waded along railroad tracks, pulling out debris. The Defense Ministry said 8,000 soldiers were battling floods in Upper Austria province and along the Danube.

The flooding affected an estimated 60,000 Austrians, who were either evacuated or whose homes suffered damage, authorities said.

In Salzburg province, more than 1,000 buildings were underwater, and in the badly flooded Danube town of Krems, residents were urged to abandon lower floors Tuesday night.

Most of Europe’s flooding casualties were in Russia, where at least 58 people were killed late last week--mostly Russian tourists vacationing on the Black Sea who were ambushed by flood waters that swept cars and tents out to sea.

Elsewhere, flood-related trouble continued Tuesday in India, with heavy rains washing down from the foothills of the Himalayas and swelling rivers in the eastern part of the country.

New flooding was reported in northern regions of India’s Bihar state, and the Kosi River was flowing higher than normal, Special Relief Commissioner Sambhu Sarab Singh told reporters.

Monsoon flooding has killed at least 874 people in India, Nepal and Bangladesh since June, officials said.