Prague is closing the embankment and gate on Čertovka due to flood warnings
Follow the warning of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute about rising river levels, the Prague City Hall will preventively close the embankments on the Vltava and the flood gates on Čertovka, said the city’s spokesman Vít Hofman. After heavy rains, meteorologists declared the first degree of flood danger for Prague, which also applies to the southwest of Bohemia and part of the Central Bohemian Region.
According to Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates), Prague is proceeding according to the flood plan after receiving the warning. “As a preventive measure, we will close the flood barrier in Čertovce and further close the floodplains for the public in the city districts of Prague 1, 2 and 5,” he said. He added that the municipality monitors the flow of the Vltava and is in contact with the Vltava River Basin and the city districts affected.
At the moment, the lock chamber in Modřany is also closed because it is clogged with floating objects. “The watercourses carry a number of navigable things and because of this, for example, navigation through the Modřany lock chamber, which is clogged, is stopped. We are in contact with both the Vltava River Basin and the city districts affected by this situation. We will continue to closely monitor the level and flow of the river, “added Hřib
The gates at Čertovka will be closed for the first time since the floods in 2013, according to information from the municipality, with further exercises in 2019.
Due to the warning of flood vigilance, Prague is taking preventive anti-flood measures. Today, a stop to close the Prague embankments and close the gates at Čertovka. The city is also in contact with the organizers of the weekend Midsummer Festival Navalis.
– Zdenek Hrib (@ZdenekHrib) May 14, 2021
“The metropolis informed preventively about the possible development of the tenant and the market on the embankments a few days in advance,” said Hofman. Where possible, according to the municipality, the flow of water through Prague will be regulated by the reservoirs of the Vltava Cascade. According to the Vltava River Basin, the Orlík waterworks has plenty of space to fill, said Hofman.
In Central Bohemia, the warning of meteorologists concerns the lower reaches of the Berounka. However, its level should culminate in the first stage of flood activity, when water is not yet flowing from the banks. The warning against rising river levels due to heavy rain also applies to the entire South Bohemian Region and the eastern half of the Pilsen Region. There, too, the levels of flows should culminate in the first, occasionally the second degree. The short-term attainment of the third degree of meteorological flood activity is expected only at Úslava in the village of Prádlo in the southern part of Plzeň.
After heavy rain, the rivers are in the second stage
Storms hit the Czechia on Wednesday evening. It also rained heavily on Thursday night for Friday, when river levels rose mainly in Silesia and southwestern Bohemia.
In the Central Bohemian Region, rivers have reached the first or second degree of flood activity in a number of places. Firefighters had the most interventions in the district of Prague-West and in the Beroun region, pumping mainly water from flooded cellars or garages and liquidating fallen trees.
“The Regional Operations and Information Center is currently witnessing several dozen events that are caused by heavy rain,” said their spokeswoman Dagmar Zemanová on Friday morning. For example, on Thursday, firefighters registered 80 events, of which 54 were technical interventions in fallen trees or flooded garages and cellars.
The rains caused great damage, especially in the Opava region, where they caused local floods in Šilheřovice. Firefighters also liquidated the consequences of torrential rains in the Karviná region, pumping water in the local Bohumín Municipal Hospital for more than two hours, which reached a meter in the cellar with the electrical substation.
Also in the Vysočina region, the levels of four streams reached the first flood levels indicating vigilance, such as Želivka, the river Jihlava in Bransouz na and the rivers Šlapanka and Balinka. Fill in the information from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute.
For preventive reasons, firefighters built a flood wall under the Tyrš Bridge. The culmination of the level is expected on Saturday. The level is forecast to rise to 420 centimeters.
On Friday, according to the forecast, the rain in the Czech Republic should decrease, but on Saturday, meteorological weather is expected to show rain and occasional thunderstorms again.