Central Europe Remains under Flood Alert

The flood alert service in the German province of Bavaria has issued a warning about heavy rain in the forecast that is likely to worsen the flooding.

It is affecting rivers in the region, including the Danube and the Inn.

The German cities of Passau and Rosenheim have declared a state of emergency.

Authorities in Passau, which lies at the confluence of three rivers in Bavaria, say the Danube has reached 9.3 m and is increasing by 20 cm per hour. They have requested help from the German army.

Bavaria is not the only German province to be affected; towns and cities in Saxony, Thuringia and Baden-Wuerttemberg are also flooded.

According to German media, cited by the BBC, the army is to be deployed there, after Chancellor Angela Merkel has discussed the floods in phone calls with the prime ministers of Bavaria and Saxony.

In addition to Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland have been affected by the flooding after rivers reached dangerously high levels.

Many homes have been evacuated.

A man was killed by a landslide near Salzburg in Austria. Two people have died in the Czech Republic after waters destroyed country cottages. Four people are missing in the two countries.

The Czech government has declared a nationwide state of emergency and the Czech capital Prague is on high alert as a swell of floodwater moves in from the south.

The BBC correspondent in Prague is quoted in saying the situation there was tense.

Firemen have been putting up metal flood barriers and volunteers filling sandbags as the River Vltava is due to reach peak levels in Prague Monday.

Prime Minister Petr Necas has called an emergency sitting of the government to coordinate the emergency response.

Authorities believe the river in Prague will not reach the levels it did in 2002, when parts of the city were devastated, but will still be high enough to cause severe damage.

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