The prime minister on Friday praised protection efforts, saying that there were ample number of volunteers and coordination between state and municipal protection bodies had been seamless so far.

People also seemed "calmer" than during the 2013 floods, he said. "We can say this time: nothing is happening that we haven't seen before, and there is no danger that we haven't avoided at least once already."

While the situation is serious, "there is no need to rush", Orban said. If everyone stays in their place over the weekend, "everything will be fine", he said.

Orban said he expected Hungarians to "come out strengthened" from the situation.

Forecasts accurate so far, key to flood defence

Forecasts of flood peaks have been accurate so far, and this is key to the success of defence efforts, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a press conference on Friday.

Regarding the River Leitha, surrounding areas were successfully protected throughout a ten-hour peak, and the situation is improving, he said.

As regards the River Danube, reports on Friday morning show the flood peak in the area of Komarom, in the north-west. The Danube water recession is expected to be slow, he added.

On Thursday 614km of rivers were under defence, and now this has risen to 754km, with the most urgent level of defence readiness at 114km.

Over the weekend, the task will be to maintain preparedness and "constant vigilance", Orban said after the meeting of the operative body for flood protection.

He called on lawmakers, volunteers and mayors to organise patrols to monitor the situation.

"The hardest in times like these is to maintain vigilance when one feels the worst is behind one," he said.

While flood protection efforts have so far focused on the stretch of the Danube upstream from Budapest, work has now started in the south too, on Bata, Dunaszekcso and Baja, he said.

Orban inspects defence operations in Kisoroszi in Danube Bend

Prime Minister Viktor Orban inspected the flood defence operation at Kisoroszi in the Danube Bend, in northern Hungary, on Thursday morning, accompanied by Eszter Vitalyos, the government spokeswoman and MP for the region, Orban's press chief said.

Orban crossed the river to reach the enclosed village by boat and spoke with local residents participating in defence, Bertalan Havasi told MTI.

There are 1,032 people in Kisoroszi which is threatened by the flood, but all of them are safe thanks to effective and successful defence operations, the prime minister said.

Orban and Vitalyos then travelled on to Pocsmegyer, a village on the Szentendre Island, and inspected flood protection. Orban was briefed by water management officials in charge of local defence operations, said Havasi.

Capital Awaits Peak Water Levels, Transport Disruptions

Budapest is prepared to handle the Danube's peak flood levels, the city's mayor Gergely Karácsony has said, adding that all flood defence work will be completed by noon on Thursday.

The most intense flood defence work is being carried out along Nanasi-Kiralyok Road in the third district, Margaret Island and the area around the Dagaly baths at the northern Pest embankment, Karacsony said in a post on Facebook.

On Nanasi-Kiralyok Road, a clay levee is being built along several kilometres, the mayor said.

On Margaret Island, 800,000 sandbags are being filled, he continued, noting that the island has been closed to traffic from Margaret Bridge and will likely also be closed from the direction of Arpad Bridge.

Meanwhile, a mobile dam will be built near the Dagaly baths.

The bridges leading to Hajogyari Island will be closed and power to the island will be cut, Karacsony confirmed.

The floods are also expected to cause delays in public transport, with the tram lines along the Danube being the main ones to be affected, he added.

Karacsony thanked those contributing to the flood protection efforts.



Flood - Orban: Hungary safe, despite 'serious' situation

Despite the seriousness of the flood, Hungary is safe, with sufficient equipment and manpower assigned to protection, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a press conference on Thursday.

The stretch of areas put under flood defence operations had to be extended, Orban said.

The Danube is expected to recede slowly, he said, adding that no rain was in the forecast for the Austrian section of the river over the next seven days. The Danube is expected to peak on Thursday in the Dunaremete region, at Mosonmagyarovar, in north-western Hungary, Orban added.

The Leitha river is expected to peak at Mosonmagyarovar on Thursday morning at a record water level, Orban said. The peak of the flood has moved 45-55km in about 24 hours, he added.

Besides protection against the highest water levels, Hungary will also have to prepare to counter damages caused by a slow ebb of the flood, Orban said. Opening the emergency reserves on the Leitha has resulted in a drop in water levels, and there will hopefully be no need for further emergency reserves, he said.

The stretch of areas put under flood defence operations has been extended by 70 kilometres, 37km of which is under extraordinary alert, the prime minister said.

The river's Budapest embankments could be open to traffic around the middle of next week, he said.

The number of professionals working in flood prevention in Budapest was raised to 5,828, along with 4,012 volunteers. The number of registered volunteers is 15,353, Orban said. Further, 200 water management professionals and 200 soldiers have also been deployed, along with 130 policemen, he said.

The number of prison inmates working on flood prevention has been raised to 200, he said. Fully 152 auxiliary policemen, 151 people working in government-fostered work programmes, and 171 firefighter volunteers are also working on the dams, he said.

"Hungary has learned flood protection during the previous floods, and professionals and volunteers know exactly what to do," Orban said.

Volunteers have filled and placed 130,000 sandbags on the dams, he said.

Barring unexpected events, the flood will leave Hungary with the Danube confined and kept between its barriers, Orban said.

The quality of the protection work "is cause for optimism", Orban said, and thanked soldiers, policemen and "thousands of volunteers for the enormous work" the day before.

Meanwhile, defence lines have been finished north of the capital in Dunabogdany and Tahitotfalu, and almost done at Leanyfalu, Orban said.

Sections of Road 2, leading north from Budapest along the Danube, will probably have to be closed on Friday, Orban said. Kismaros, north of Budapest, was in a critical situation on Wednesday, but protection levels were on 100 percent there too, thanks to a deployment of the Armed Forces, he added.

The government has also launched a free phone line for people to report flood-related matters and to apply as volunteers, he said. He also praised the work of volunteers at Nagymaros, north of Budapest, where they successfully covered flood preparations on a long stretch of the river bank.

Asked about EU assistance, the prime minister said that Hungary had activated the relevant mechanisms and Brussels had started to looking into possible ways to help.

Asked about flood defence expenses, Orban said no extra spending was planned, noting that the annual budget always contains allocations for unexpected situations.

"Therefore, there is no financial ceiling for flood defences, because the necessary resources are available for immediate payment," he said. Private companies employed by local authorities to help the defence efforts would also be paid through the usual channels, he said.

Asked about compensation payment for damage caused by the flood, he said its amount was to be assessed afterwards. The emergency reservoirs by the Leitha are privately owned farmlands, and the damage may include lost crops and damage to irrigation and other equipment, he said.

Concerning wages in the water management sector, Orban said those were extremely low compared with the tasks performed and pledged to regulate their wages in 2025 or 2026, over a period of 1-3 years.

Answering a question, he noted that since the great flood in 2013, the country's flood defence system had been significantly improved with 150 billion forints (EUR 380.4m) worth of development projects completed.

Calling each flood "a load test", the prime minister said those always revealed missing components, noting that a mobile dam was most likely needed to be built at Kismaros in the Danube Bend.

The flood of the Danube is expected to peak in Budapest on Saturday night, and the brunt of the wave will pass Hungary by the middle of next week, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a press conference on Thursday.

The river's Budapest embankments could be open to traffic around the middle of next week, he said.

The number of professionals working in flood prevention in Budapest was raised to 5,828, along with 4,012 volunteers. The number of registered volunteers is 15,353, Orban said.

"Hungary has learned flood protection during the previous floods, and professionals and volunteers know exactly what to do," Orban said.

Orban: Stretch of areas under flood defence extended

The stretch of areas put under flood defence operations had to be extended, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a press conference on Thursday morning, on the seventh day of flood prevention in Hungary.

The Danube is expected to recede slowly, he said, adding that no rain was in the forecast for the Austrian section of the river over the next seven days. The Danube is expected to peak on Thursday in the Dunaremete region, at Mosonmagyarovar, in north-western Hungary, Orban added.

The Lajta (Leitha) river is expected to peak at Mosonmagyarovar on Thursday morning at a record water level, Orban said.

He said monitoring of the flood situation in Austria was continuous where the rivers were receding slowly. "It is important to keep an eye on slow receding because most flood damage occur during those periods," he said.

The stretch of areas put under flood defence operations has been extended by 70 kilometres, the prime minister said.

Govt weighs impact of flooding on SMEs

The government could provide support to small businesses hit by flooding, Richard Szabados, the National Economy Ministry's state secretary for SMEs said.

Flood defence is the immediate priority, but the impact of the flooding on SMEs is being gauged, Szabados said, consulting on flood defence efforts in Esztergom, in the north of the country.

He said business organisations had been urged at a meeting of the Business Development Council on Tuesday to conduct a rapid assessment of damages caused by the flooding to SMEs, including closures, inventory delivery stoppages and staff shortages.

On the basis of feedback, the National Economy Ministry could recommend support for those SMEs to the government, if necessary, he added.


MVM takes flood defence steps

MVM Group has started safety measures, in coordination with national and local authorities, at its gas and electricity networks affected by flooding, the state-owned energy company said.

Gas and electricity could be shut off in some settlements along the Danube, MVM said. MVM will keep its customers informed of changes on the website mvmhalozat.hu

Danube Flood Threatens Several Historic Budapest Baths

The flood approaching Budapest along the Danube will affect several baths and spas, necessitating protection measures, Budapest Gyogyfurdoi es Hevizei (BGYH), the company that operates the baths, said on Wednesday.

With Margaret Island threatened with inundation, the popular Palatinus baths on the island is now closed to the public, the company said.

Staff there have begun implementing protection measures, including 24-hour monitoring of the 10-hectare site and measures to protect the 100-year-old wave pool.

High water levels are also endangering the Gellert, Rudas, Rac, Kiraly and Lukacs thermal baths, as well as the Punkosdfurdo pool, BGYH said.

Water pumps, mobile power generators and sandbags have been provided to help protect each site, it said.


Fidesz calls for free public transport in Budapest during floods

Alexandra Szentkiralyi, the leader of ruling Fidesz's Budapest chapter, has called on the mayor of Budapest to ensure free use of the city's public transport services during the closure of the embankments of the Danube due to the flood.

Traffic in Budapest has slowed down due to flood protection measures, she said in a post on Facebook on Tuesday.

"We ask Mayor Gergely Karacsony to arrange for allowing the public to use services operated by Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) free of charge and promote the use of public transportation means by car owners."


Flood defence capabilities lot more developed than in 2013

Although Hungary is facing the biggest flood since the one in 2013 it has a lot more developed flood defence capabilities than eleven years ago, the parliamentary state secretary of the interior ministry told a press briefing on the flood situation on Tuesday.

The peak water levels are expected to exceed last week's levels by 6-6.5 metres in the Szigetkoz, the Danube Bend and Budapest, Bence Retvari said. Rivers will carry 400 percent more water at their peak this week, he continued.

Since 2013, the country's flood defence system has been significantly improved with 150 billion forints (EUR 380.4m) worth of development projects completed, he said.

Those included the upgrade of dikes, the construction of facilities helping flood defence, building rainwater storages and a clean-up of riverbeds, Retvari added.

He noted that defence operations were ongoing along a 390km river section and at 35 settlements coordinated by local mayors and supported by the disaster management and water management authorities.

Police have dispatched officers to nine sites who arrange road closures and are also filling sandbags, Retvari added. He said schools, health-care and social institutions operate uninterrupted.

"State leaders participating in flood defence have postponed all of their international obligations for as long as the situation is difficult at the dams," Retvari said.

Istvan Lang, the head of Hungary's Water Management Directorate, said the Danube is forecast to peak at a level 30-50cm below the level of the 2013 flood.

All of the affected municipalities have arranged for the setting up of dikes which are nearly half-way ready, he said, adding that they will be fully completed by the time the rivers peak.

The directorate has assigned an additional staff of 298 to be on duty along the 1,500km state-managed defence line, arranged for the delivery of 2 million sandbags and the distribution of more than 1 million sandbags to local governments, Lang said.

The Leitha river is expected to peak at Mosonmagyarovar on Wednesday night, he said. The Danube is expected to peak at Szigetkoz on Thursday morning at Gyor in the evening on that day, at Komarom on Friday morning and in Esztergom on Friday afternoon.

On Saturday the river is expected to peak at Nyergesfalu in the early morning, at Vac later on and in Budapest on Saturday evening, Lang added.


Hungary deploying as many soldiers as necessary to aid with flood defence work

As many as 1,400 soldiers are assisting flood protection efforts in Hungary, but the military is prepared to deploy as many service members as necessary, the defence minister said on Tuesday morning.

Troops are working day and night along the Danube and are also present in the Mosonmagyarovar area in the northwest and at two localities in Komarom-Esztergom County in the north, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said, according to a ministry statement.

Soldiers are also being deployed to other towns and villages, he said.

"The Hungarian Armed Forces is providing assistance in handling the situation caused by the floods as requested by the counties," Szalay-Bobrovniczky said.

The military is using PTS-M tracked amphibious vehicles as well as H145M helicopters in the defence work, the minister said, adding that plans are to deploy professional, contract and reservist troops to aid with the protection efforts.

Toll-free flood protection helpline
Phone: 06 80 204-240

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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