Index – Interior – The flood is coming, extraordinary measures are being introduced in Budapest

As of Monday, the level of flood protection preparedness in Budapest will rise to level three, the mayor’s office told MTI on Saturday. According to their information, based on the latest forecasts, the water level of the Danube near Budapest will rise by one meter per day from Monday, where the river is expected to peak with a water level exceeding eight meters in the second half of next week.

Since the protection becomes much more intense at such a water level, the mayor will raise the flood protection preparedness level to level three on Monday, September 16, from zero o’clock in all parts of Budapest, they added.

On Monday, the Capital Sewerage Works, which is responsible for the defense, will begin closing the backstage passages of the Nánási-Királyok útja defense line and building a four-kilometer-long, one-meter-high, and four-meter-wide clay embankment. Due to the construction of the temporary barrier, Királyok út will be closed to road traffic from Monday, the announcement reads.

The protection of the lower-lying parts of Margit Island is strengthened with sandbags, which – based on the experience of the flood defense in 2013 – use high-performance machines to fill them. Depending on the flood situation, Margit Island may be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the middle of next week, they said.

Gergely Karácsony already indicated on Friday when the parts of the capital threatened by the Danube will be closed

The lower quay is expected to be flooded by the Danube on Tuesday, September 17. Due to the event, the sections of the inner Pest quay, which were already closed for the weekend, will not be reopened until the flood recedes, they pointed out.

The rest of the lower quay in Pest, as well as the lower quay in Buda, will be completely closed on Monday, September 16, starting at 8 p.m. It is forbidden to stop on the quays from 0:00 on Saturday, the cars parked there will be removed by the Metropolitan Municipality Police Directorate on Monday – wrote Gergely Karácsony in his Facebook post on Friday, which we already reported on earlier.

In order to ensure the uninterrupted supply of drinking water to Budapest and the surrounding settlements, the Capital Waterworks has begun an increased inspection of wells, engine houses and pumps in operation. The quality of the drinking water is constantly checked by the company’s laboratory – they underlined.

Based on the current forecasts, restrictions will probably be necessary in the public transport of the areas along the river in the middle of next week, the details of which the experts will be able to determine at the beginning of next week, the mayor’s office announced.

The National Water Directorate General issued new information on Saturday – this is when the wharf may be flooded

Due to the cyclone that passed over us, the extremely rainy weather continued, mainly in the eastern and western parts of the Alps and the Carpathian Basin, and the rain is not over yet, wrote Friss in its meaning the Water Affairs.

As they said, the movement of the cyclone is still very variable, there are also drier areas between the associated precipitation bands, so it is very uncertain to determine the distribution of the precipitation that has not yet fallen in advance in space and time. In the last 24 hours, more rain fell on the upper Danube catchment areas than previous calculations showed. Added:

In Budapest, the water level is expected to reach the level of the lower quays next Tuesday.

“On the section of the Danube up to Budapest, the III. degree above the water level, on the Lajta and Rába even approaching the highest ever measured water level (LNV), on the Mura the III. degree, and at the Dráván Drávaszabolcs, a peak around the level of the first degree is likely,” they wrote.

Due to the hydrological situation, the National Technical Management Team of the Ministry of Water Affairs continues to coordinate flood protection activities in the country. Vízügy employees constantly monitor the forecasts and adjust their preparations for the expected situation to the current data, primarily along the Danube and Lajta rivers.

The water service not only regroups personnel and equipment to the areas most affected by protection, but also provides assistance to local governments, they wrote.

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