State of emergency called off in Bratislava, shipping on the Danube not to resume soon

The state of emergency in Bratislava that was introduced due to the flooding on the Danube River on Tuesday (June 4) was called off on Monday, June 10 at 14:00, Mayor of Bratislava Milan Ftáčnik said.

The state of emergency in Bratislava that was introduced due to the flooding on the Danube River on Tuesday (June 4) was called off on Monday, June 10 at 14:00, Mayor of Bratislava Milan Ftáčnik said.

"Nonetheless, work related to the floods hasn’t been completed yet. The level [of the Danube River] may rise due to the recent rains in Germany and Austria, but it shouldn't go beyond the second-degree flood alert," said Ftáčnik as quoted by the TASR newswire. The boathouse in the Karlova Ves Inlet will need more time to recover. "The leaks there have been more extensive than we originally estimated," said Ftáčnik. All in all, Bratislava coped well with the flood on the Danube River last week, he concluded.

The structural stability of Bratislava's Old Bridge sustained no damage during the flooding or from objects floating on the surface in the past few days, head of the flood emergency staff Ľubomír Andrassy, who also heads the office of Bratislava mayor, said. The bridge is currently not used for road traffic but is slated to be repaired and re-opened.

During clean-up work on Tyršovo Square near the right-hand bank of the Danube, it was found that part of the road leading to the parking lot had been damaged by the floodwaters, which reached record highs in the modern era. "We're aiming to resolve the situation post-haste so that the embankment can be cleaned up and cultural events planned for next week can be held," said Andrassy.

The increased levels of groundwater following the recent floods on the Danube River caused the partial collapse of a house in the Old Port area in Gabčíkovo on Monday. Speaking to TASR early Monday evening, head of the rescue teams Ján Culka said it is only a matter of time before the entire house falls down. "It's the first building [to be] damaged by the groundwater in the Dunajská Streda district, and it appears that it'll be completely destroyed," said Culka.

Shipping on the section of the Danube in Slovakia will not resume in the near future, spokeswoman for the director of the State Shipping Administration Jana Vadkertyová said for the SITA newswire. Although shipping on the Danube is halted until the Danube’s level in Bratislava reaches 7.5 metres, this does not mean that shipping will immediately be permitted as soon as the Danube drops below this level. The measuring station located on the Danube’s banks near the city centre on Monday at 9:30 measured 684 centimetres. High water levels of the Danube stopped not only shipping but also suspended activity in the ports, especially in transshipment of goods. Renewal of operations in ports after the flood recedes could take two to four weeks, SITA wrote.

(Source: TASR, SITA)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.

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