BBC

Thousands of people have fled their homes across central Europe as deadly flood waters continue to rise.

Emergency operations are under way in Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic to cope with river levels which have reached record heights in some places.

Landslides and flooding have led to the deaths of at least seven people. More than eight others are missing.

The German army has been drafted in to help reinforce flood defences in the south and east of the country.

In the Czech Republic, a nationwide state of emergency is in force. Around 3,000 people have been forced to leave their homes across the west of the country.

The authorities in the capital, Prague, are on high alert amid fears that the River Vltava could swamp its historic centre. On Monday morning, the river was flowing at 2,800 cubic metres per second – 10 times its normal volume.

As a precaution the city’s metro system has been closed, metal flood defences are being erected and sandbags built up along the banks of the Vltava.

No major evacuations are planned in Prague, but tigers at the city’s zoo have been tranquilised and moved out of an enclosure thought to be at risk of flooding.

“The story is not yet over here,” warned Environment Minister Tomas Chalupa.

Although the Vltava was expected to rise again on Tuesday morning, officials said it was unlikely to reach the levels seen in 2002, the last time Europe saw similar floods.

Seventeen people were killed in the Czech Republic and the cost of the damage across the continent was estimated at 20bn euros (£17bn).

The BBC’s Rob Cameron in Prague says the destruction so far seen in the capital has been relatively minor compared to elsewhere. In southern and western areas of the country, several towns and villages are under water, our correspondent adds.

Disaster zone

Main roads in many areas of central Europe have been closed and rail services cut. Thousands of homes are without power.

Czech police said on Monday that at least five people were now known to have died due to the flooding. Two people died after their cottage collapsed on Sunday, and three people had died in separate incidents across Bohemia. Several people are missing.

Floods across Central Europe

Austria Two people have died and several are missing in the west of the country

Germany Evacuations have taken place in Saxony while Bavaria is forecast more heavy rain

Czech Republic Five people have died and Prague is on high alert. Troops have been called in to erect flood defences

In Austria, the meteorological service said two months of rain had fallen in just two days.

A man was found dead near Salzburg after being swept away as he worked to clear a landslip, and another man who had been listed as missing was found dead in the western state of Vorarlberg. Three people remain missing.

More than 300 people were moved from their homes in Salzburg and the neighbouring Tyrol as the army worked with the civil authorities to clear landslides and make roads passable. Parts of the Pinzgau region, which includes Taxenbach, have been declared a disaster zone.

‘Extremely dramatic’

In Germany, the army said it had sent 1,760 soldiers to southern and eastern areas to help local authorities reinforce flood defences.

The Bavarian towns of Passau and Rosenheim declared states of emergency, as forecasters warned of continuing heavy rain and a high risk of flooding from several rivers, including the Danube.

Water levels in Passau, which the Danube is joined by the Inn and Ilz rivers, were at their highest since the disastrous floods of 1954 and might rise further, officials said.

Much of the city is inaccessible on foot and the electricity supply has been cut as a precaution.

“The situation is extremely dramatic,” Herbert Zillinger, a spokesman for Passau’s crisis centre, told the Associated Press.

Towns and cities in Saxony, Thuringia and Baden-Wuerttemberg have also been inundated by flooding, and the army has been deployed to help with the emergency effort.

In northern Saxony, water levels on the River Mulde were said to be particularly high.

A large area of Eilenburg north-east of Leipzig was evacuated, reports said, with 7,000 people being taken to emergency shelters.

Shipping was halted on parts of the Danube and Rhine rivers in Germany, and the entire length of the Danube in Austria. The rivers are used heavily to transport commodities such as grain and coal.

An emergency taskforce has been set up by the federal government, and Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to visit affected areas on Tuesday.

The European Union has said it stands ready to help the three countries as they tackle the devastating floods.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico also warned that there was a risk of flooding as water moved down the Danube, which passes through Bratislava.

“We are getting bad news from Germany and Austria. We have to do all we can to protect… the capital,” he said.

The head of Hungary’s National Disaster Authority, Gyorgy Bakondi, said 400 people were working on flood defences in the capital, Budapest, where he said the level of the Danube might reach or even exceed the height seen in 2002.

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