From the Deník archive: On August 10, 2002, the water drained away, at least for a while
/PHOTO GALLERY/ Prague breathed a sigh of relief – the water drained away. That was the headline of a special topic on August 10, 2002 in Večerník Praha, which is the successor of Pražský deník. See what was written about the floods that day.
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Devastating flood in 2002, Smíchov – Vltava statue.
| Photo: Courtesy of the Vltava Basin
“The water in the Vltava rose dangerously, but it did not bring complete destruction like elsewhere in Bohemia,” reads the introduction of the article in Večerník Praha. According to the articles, in the end, the forecasts did not come true and the impact of the flood was weaker than expected.
Večerník Prague, 10 August 2002.
According to the media, the metropolis resisted, and reports still indicated the most destructive flood was the one from 1890. However, everyone realized that if a hundred-year flood came, neither the embankment walls nor the Vltava Cascade would protect Prague. This was also confirmed in a few days.
For now, however, it is August 10 and “Prague has taken a breather”.
From the Deník archive: On August 9, 2002, floods from the south arrived in Prague
Info box:
The first wave of flooding
August 9
The rains in the south of Bohemia have stopped and the water has receded. The Vltava reached a flow rate of 1500 m³/s (3 SPA) and began to decline.
10th of August
The first wave of flooding has ended and a major clean-up and damage assessment has begun, but they warned of more sustained rainfall. The Vltava in Prague has dropped to the second level of flood activity.
August 11th
In the afternoon, it began to rain heavily in the south of Bohemia, the water managers released the dams, but promised that the Vltava in Prague would not reach the first wave of flooding.
The second wave of flooding
Aug. 12
the second wave is expected to be much stronger than the first.
August 13
Electricity supply was interrupted in the historic center of Prague. The Velká Chuchle racecourse was completely flooded.
August 14th
The Vltava in Prague reached a flow rate of 5160 m3/s at 12 o’clock in Velká Chuchla at a water level of 782 cm, Karlín and the Prague metro were flooded.
The newspaper recalls the devastating floods that hit the Czechia twenty years ago. How did the disaster affect the lives of the people of Central Bohemia and Prague? Read here.