Eastern Germany is bracing for floods as the catastrophic rains hitting its Central European neighbours threaten to spill over the German border.
Authorities in the state of Saxony said on Sunday that the level of the Elbe river in Schöna, near the border to the Czech Republic, is expected to peak on Tuesday afternoon at 7.50 metres – enough to declare the highest alarm level in the area.
The Elbe has already risen to 5.59 metres in Schöna, far above the average height of 1.58 metres. It is expected to reach 6 metres by Sunday evening.
Should waters rise to the highest alarm level, the state flood centre said dams could overflow or break, causing built-up areas to flood and posing a threat to life and limb.
The state capital of Dresden, which lies along the Elbe, could be threatened by the flooding, which has devastated low-lying areas in the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria.
The city’s historic city centre is to be protected from rising water levels by mobile barriers, which are to be set up on Monday.
Dresden authorities have been racing to complete the removal of parts of a bridge which collapsed into the Elbe on Wednesday ahead of the expected flooding.
Initial demolition work was completed on Saturday, the city’s environmental agency said.
