Record floods threatened a string of historic towns in Germany as well as Hungary's capital yesterday after ravaging vast swathes of central Europe in the past week, claiming nearly 100 lives.
Central European leaders were due to meet yesterday in Berlin to discuss the huge costs of the path of destruction wrought across Germany, Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic.
Tens of thousands of Germans have been evacuated and many lost their homes as a flood wave surged down the River Elbe, wreaking havoc in the eastern architectural jewel of Dresden on its way to an eventual exit to the sea in northern Hamburg.
Evacuations and hasty flood defense work were carried out in Bitterfeld, where chemical plants pose an environmental threat; Torgau, best known as the place where US and Soviet forces met on the Elbe in World War II and Wittenberg, where theologian Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the city's church doors.
As Danube river water rose rapidly in Hungary, flood defenses were being strengthened between the Slovak border and Budapest, where levels were expected to peak last night. Officials said they believed the city's 10m high defenses would hold.
In Germany, the floods dealt a harsh blow to Dresden, which is still trying to repair the scars of the massive 1945 bombing by US and British planes that destroyed most of the city. But the most pressing dangers moved to cities downstream.
Thousands were evacuated from the industrial town of Bitterfeld in eastern Germany amid fears of an environmental disaster if water from a burst dam reached nearby chemical plants. They were still dry yesterday.
Officials said the situation was critical in Torgau, where the water reached its high point yesterday after about 10,000 people were evacuated.
Further downstream, authorities in the northern region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern said they may have to evacuate 30,000 people, while the environment ministry in the central town of Hanover said the waters may not reach their region until the middle of next week.
While officials still braced for more floodwaters, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was to meet leaders from Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Berlin yesterday. European Commission President Romano Prodi was also expected to attend.
The European Investment Bank said it would offer stricken countries across central Europe millions of euros in loans to finance state spending on repairing flood damage.
Some estimate overall costs in Germany at more than 10 billion euros. Dresden's mayor estimated the damage in the hundreds of millions of euros for Dresden alone.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS