The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute issued a warning for the highest flood alert on the Danube River, which will continue to rise and culminate even higher than 10m on Thursday morning. Hydrologists now worry that it might reach the flooding levels of 2002. Currently the Danube has flooded the walking path and a parking lot on the right bank in the Bratislava’s borough of Petržalka. It has also reached the concrete parapet on the left bank in the Old Town. Anti-flood barriers have been installed on both sides of the river. On Monday, firefighters helped people in ten houses in the borough of Devin to move their belongings to higher ground. One of the main roads connecting Devin to Bratislava’s City Centre was closed at noon on Tuesday. About 350 army personnel are on stand-by ready to give a helping hand in Bratislava in the following hours and days.
Shipping on the Slovak sector of the Danube was halted on Monday evening until further notice because of extremely high water levels that threaten the safety of ships. ”Once the water level in the Danube in Devin passes 7.5 meters, shipping on the largest river in Slovakia becomes dangerous and a total ban begins to apply for ships to leave port,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development Martin Kona. ”Given the developments in Austria and Germany, the Danube is still expected to rise further. It usually takes a few days from the moment it starts to subside in Passau, Germany, until the river falls to safe levels in Slovakia,” said Kona. Ships that are caught up by the ban on the territory of Slovakia will wait for the restoration of shipping in the public port in Bratislava.
