- The River Elbe is expected to peak in the German city of Dresden within hours
- The River Danube has also caused wide flooding in southern Germany
- Cities downriver in Slovakia and Hungary are already on alert for the surge
- Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes
Dresden, Germany (CNN) -- The German city of Dresden waited anxiously Thursday to see if the swollen River Elbe, which has brought misery to thousands in the Czech Republic, would breach its flood defenses.
The river is expected to crest in Dresden later Thursday or early Friday. It is running at about 8.5 meters and is expected to reach about 9 meters (30 feet) when the flow peaks.
The city is just one of many across central Europe to face the prospect of the worst floods since the devastating inundations of 2002.
The streets of the nearby historic town of Meissen are under several feet of water ahead of the river's peak, affecting homes and businesses, and forcing the evacuation of some 4,500 people.
Although the skies are mostly clear, heavy rain at the weekend after a wet spring has filled the region's rivers to bursting point. More rain is forecast for the coming weekend.
The flooding has caused at least a dozen deaths across the region. Almost 20,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in the Czech Republic as of Wednesday and about 25,000 in Germany.
The peak of the flood wave from the Czech Republic along the Elbe is expected in the eastern German states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, the European Commission said.
Preparations are also under way further north, in the states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Authorities in Saxony said at least 3.5 million sandbags have been filled and deployed in flood defenses in Dresden and surrounding towns.
The Danube, another of Europe's great rivers, has caused major flooding in southern Germany and the crest now menaces towns and cities downstream in Austria and Slovakia.
In Germany, the situation "remains critical but stable" along the Danube, the European Commission's emergency response center said. About 9,000 people have been evacuated in the southern Bavaria region, and many roads and railway lines are affected.
An emergency alert is still in place in the Bavarian town of Regensburg, and Deggendorf is completely cut off, it said.
The flood wave in the Danube is expected to reach the Hungarian capital, Budapest, on Sunday, it said.
A state of emergency was declared this week in three counties along the river Danube in northwestern Hungary, as well as in Budapest.
The historic center of the Czech capital, Prague, was largely spared as the swollen Vltava River peaked there earlier this week, but other areas fared less well.
Eight deaths were reported in the Czech Republic, a fire service spokeswoman said Wednesday. At least two deaths each were reported in Austria and Germany.
CNN's Matthew Chance reported from Dresden and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London. Ivana Kottasova contributed to this report.
06 Jun, 2013
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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNH4QECu-0H_LzvjL6zjHBgZEMVI6Q&url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/06/world/europe/europe-flood/index.html
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