A near-record amount of water will arrive with the flood in Szigetköz, where more than 500 specialists of the National Directorate General of Water (OVF) are already present, said the spokesperson of the OVF, Gabriella Siklós.
“It is more and more certain that a very large amount of water arrives in the country on the Danube,” said Siklós, speaking to the public media on Monday morning.
The specialists of the National Water Warning Service currently believe that the water level in the section up to Budapest and in the capital will be about 40 centimeters lower than during the 2013 flooding peaks. Siklós said that since it is still raining in the catchment areas of the Traun, the Enns, and the Vienna basin, this data will still need to be clarified.
“From a flooding point of view, the most serious situation can be expected along the Szigetköz and Lajta, since the tidal wave on the Danube first reaches Hungary there,” she added.
In addition to the specialists who have arrived in Szigetköz, the Tisza water affairs staff are also on hand to help as needed. In addition, the redeployment of forces and rescue workers is ongoing, including flooding and water management experts from the western Transdanubian who were defending themselves along the Rába and the Mura 24 hours ago. These specialists are already heading to the Danube River to help. Preparations are also ongoing at the local governments, where the water technical managers are there, as well as the disaster prevention specialists.
There are also state defense lines on the Danube for about a thousand kilometers, where the water experts can use the help of the soldiers for the work if necessary.
Gabriella Siklós indicated that “those who want to participate in flood defense can apply to the mayors. They coordinate the defense of those self-defending settlements where the help of volunteers is needed. A list of these locations is available on the OVF social pages.
The “wave” may reach Budapest on Tuesday
The National Technical Steering Group of Water Affairs continues to coordinate flood protection works in the country. More than 500 of its employees set off and are constantly arriving in the area of the North-Transdanubian and West-Transdanubian Water Directorates, which are most at risk of flooding, to help their colleagues who serve on the state defense lines.
In the next six days, there is a prospect of water levels exceeding the third level in the Danube up to Adony, and in several places exceeding the level of preparedness for the first and second level of flood protection.
At Lajta, experts expect the peak flooding to approach the highest values ever measured, while at Ráb and Mura, peaks will also reach significantly high levels. The employees of the water department are constantly monitoring the forecasts and preparing according to the current data, mainly along the Danube and Lajta.
In defense of Mosonmagyaróvár, preparations are also underway for the opening of the Lajta reservoir.
In Budapest, the water can reach the lower quay, which lines the Danube, on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Viktor Orbán inspected the water level of the Danube on the Római-part in Budapest. The prime minister pointed out that after a day the water level on the coast will rise to such an extent that it would easily overwhelm the city, but in two days the water will be another 2 meters higher.
According to Orbán, experts are confident they can fight the crisis because the flood level will not be higher than the highest so far, so they will be able to cope with it.
Csaba Dömötör, a Hungarian lawmaker and former minister in the prime minister’s office, indicated on his social media page that the Hungarian Defense Forces is providing 17,000 people, vehicles, and helicopters for flood protection.
Hungarian Minister of the Interior Sándor Pintér visited Győr, where he reported that his ministry is properly organizing the defense on the Danube and Lajta.
“The government has authorized the Ministry of the Interior to organize flood protection,” he said, adding that they will prevent the water from breaking through the dams of the Danube and Lajta.
According to the forecasts, the water level of the Danube and the Lajta will reach a height similar to or higher than the flood of 2013, so special protection is needed on the two rivers, said Pintér.
Mayor Gergely Karácsony wrote on his social media page that the Budapest section of the Danube is also on level three flood protection alert, the Buda and Pest lower quays will be closed from 8 p.m. on Monday. He indicated that the new protection facilities built after the great flood of 2013 in several flood protection sections are being tested live for the first time.
Due to the rapid rise in the water level and the strong flow of the river, the mayor asks everyone who goes near the Danube to be extra careful in the coming days.
