20 years since the flood in Prague will be commemorated by an exhibition at Kampa – Forum24
PHOTO: City Hall of Prague
In August 2002, floods hit the Czechia. The big water that came to Prague at that time caused almost 30 billion crowns worth of damage to city property. The scope and consequences were the most destructive floods in modern history, but fortunately there were no direct losses of life in the territory of the capital city.
The photographic exhibition “20 years since the flood”, which will be freely accessible from August 9 to September 22 in the Kampa park, U Sovových mlýnů, will remind those who witnessed what happened in the metropolis twenty years ago, and will show the younger ones what it looked like. Prague under water”. Some places will present “then and now” in contrast, other photos capture moments of rescue of evacuated residents and also animals from the Prague Zoo.
The devastating flood in Prague lasted a total of 12 days. It affected 5.8 percent of the city’s area. Almost 50,000 inhabitants had to be evacuated. Public transport was largely paralyzed. 18 metro stations were flooded and 25 stations and 17 km of tunnels were closed after the flood, the metro was fully operational only after 7 months. The flood not only caused huge material damage, but also brought a new experience and a new perspective on flood protection.
In 2002, only the first stage of flood protection measures on the right bank of the Vltava was built in Prague, with a length of 909.4 meters. Although the mobile embankment prevented the river from spilling into the street, the water reached the Old Town from below – the sewer network.
Since 2003, flood protection in Prague has expanded to include additional locations on both banks of the Vltava. The total length of flood protection measures (earthen embankments, fixed concrete walls and mobile embankments) is now 19,255 km, of which mobile embankments make up 6,795 km. The height of the mobile fencing ranges from 0.2 to 6.27 meters. Under all flood protection lines, waterproof reinforced concrete, sheet metal or clay cement walls are built to the depth of the impervious subsoil, in some places up to 12 meters deep. Other anti-flood measures included the construction of the mobile Čertovka barrier, the Libeň pumping station and the anti-flood closure of the harbors and the Rokytka tributary, measures were taken on the sewage network in all affected areas, metro stations in flood-prone areas have individual anti-flood measures…
Of course, it doesn’t end there, the city continues to build the protection of other locations. This year, another stage of measures was completed in Troja, work is currently underway in Zbraslav and Radotín, measures are planned in Maniny Park and, among other things, the construction of flood protection for the zoo.