Due to heavy rains in Germany, the level of the Danube in Bratislava continues to rise.
Peter Parditka from the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute informed that it will reach the second level of flood activity by Tuesday night. If the situation worsens, the municipality of Devín is ready to declare an emergency situation. Several forces are on standby, but according to the water management authorities, it is not an emergency situation. If necessary, they can intervene quickly, erect mobile barriers and thus safely cross the Danube through the built-up areas.
The Danube will reach its maximum on Thursday, rising by more than a metre, according to the hydrologist. However, further development depends on rainfall, which may complicate the situation even further.
“Slovakia shares the data with Austria and so we know the development of the water level 48 hours ahead which gives us sufficient time to take appropriate measures,” says Marián Bocák, a spokesman for the Slovak Water Management Company.
Due to the rising level of the Danube, the Minister of the Environment Tomáš Taraba also convened a crisis headquarters in Gabčíkovo. As he said, they will make every effort and ensure all necessary steps to minimize any possible impact on property or health of the inhabitants. However, the water managers add that this is not an exceptional situation and there was a similar situation during the Christmas holidays.
