Official: Government supporting local councils in flood defence

The state is providing multiple forms of assistance to every locality defending against the flood, Bence Retvari told a press conference. Each locality has been assigned an expert from the water management authority with extensive knowledge on flood protection who will help organise the defence work, he said.

Also, each locality has a liaison officer from the disaster management authority to ensure the supply of the necessary materials such as sandbags, he added.

The localities’ flood protection costs will be covered from the force majeure fund, the state secretary said.

Istvan Lang, the head of Hungary’s Directorate of Water Management, said the recent heavy rainfall has resulted in flood waves in the catchment areas of the Danube and Leitha rivers.

The flooding of the Leitha is expected to approach or exceed the record water levels, he said, adding it was likely that an emergency reservoir will have to be opened above the north-western town of Mosonmagyarovar. The river’s water will be released onto a 140-hectare agricultural area to ease the burden on the town, Lang said.

Concerning the Danube, he said that water levels at the Szigetkoz island plain in the northwest are expected to reach the near-record highs but won’t affect the populated areas. He said the Danube is expected to peak on Thursday and Friday at the Szigetkoz area at Nagybacs near Komarom-Esztergom in the north, and in Budapest on Saturday and Sunday.

The peak water level is expected to be 30-40cm below the 2013 level, he said.

Zoltan Gora, who heads the National Disaster Management Directorate, said the operative bodies overseeing the protection efforts were now all up and running.