There are nine flashpoints on the River Danube in Hungary susceptible to flooding, the Prime Minister told a press briefing at the national technical management corps (OMIT) this morning.
Viktor Orban listed as vulnerable areas Mecsér and its surroundings, Esztergom, Szentendre, Kisoroszi, Budapest and Dunaújvaros, as well as Almásfüzitő, the site of a sludge reservoir. The Prime Minister indicated that the Danube at Budapest will peak on Monday at 885cm, 25cm higher than the record levels of 2002, while water level at Nagybajcs in north-western Hungary is expected to peak at an absolute record of 900cm on Saturday.
In Komárom and its environs, also listed among high-risk locations, the Prime Minister personally took part in flood protection operations on Wednesday afternoon.
Public Administration and Justice Minister Tibor Navracsics, several Ministers of State and more than two hundred volunteers from the Ministry have joined the effirts to hel prevent flooding, the Justice Ministry announced yesterday. The Ministry staff, along with several other government officials, are working in the most vulnerable settlements located in the Danube-Bend.
Defence Minister Csaba Hende said that the Hungarian Defence Force has been fully mobilised and more than 9600 people can be deployed if necessary.
On 4 June, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared a state of emergency due to the record high water levels expected on the Danube from Wednesday. Emergency flood protection operations are underway along 191km of the river in Győr-Moson-Sopron and Komárom-Esztergom counties, as well as in the north of Pest county.
(Prime Minister’s Office, International Communications Office)
