Czech prepares for potential major floods

Prague, Sep 14 (IANS) Czech is preparing for potential major floods after meteorologists extended an extreme flood warning to most of the country over the next few days."As a result of heavy rainfall, we expect significant rises in water levels from Friday evening. The highest rises with numerous excesses of the third level of flood activity are expected during Saturday and Sunday," the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said on social media platform X on Friday.Some 100,000 professional and voluntary firefighters are standing ready to deal with floods over the weekend, reports Xinhua news agency.The police, air service and bomb squad are also being reinforced, Interior Minister Vit Rakusan told a press conference."We expect up to 400 mm of rain in some places by Monday. Several rivers will reach the first level of flood activity today, and we expect further increases in levels in the coming days," Prime Minister Petr Fiala said after a meeting of the Central Crisis Staff."Although we believe the situation will not be so dramatic, we must be prepared for worst-case scenarios. We are facing a difficult weekend," Fiala said on X, calling on citizens to exercise caution.Cities have now begun building flood barriers. In the capital, Prague, the total length of the flood barriers currently under construction is nearly 200 meters, with their height ranging from 1.3 meters to 6.2 meters, the city hall said.Authorities also said they would close the Vltava River embankments in Prague 1, 2 and 5 districts from Friday evening, and boat traffic on the river would be stopped by Saturday at the latest.