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2002 European floods
In August 2002, a week of intense rainfall produced flooding across a large portion of Europe. It reached the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine and Russia. The event killed 232 people and left €27.7 billion (US$27.115 billion) in damage. The flood was of a magnitude expected to occur roughly once a century. Flood heights unknown since St. Mary Magdalene's flood were recorded.
Flooding resulted from the passage of two Genoa low pressure systems (named Hanne and Ilse by the Free University of Berlin) which brought warm moist air from the Mediterranean northwards. The effects of El Niño may have contributed. The floods gradually moved eastwards along the Danube, although the damage in the large cities on its shores was not as severe as in the areas affected by the floods later.
When the rainfall moved northeast to the Bohemian Forest and the source areas of the Elbe and Vltava rivers, the results were catastrophic water levels first in the Austrian areas of Mühlviertel and Waldviertel and later in the Czech Republic, Thuringia and Saxony. Several villages in Northern Bohemia, Thuringia and Saxony were more or less destroyed by rivers changing their courses or massively overflowing their banks.
The floods were part of a larger system that was also affecting Asia. Several rivers in the region, including the Vltava, Elbe and Danube reached record highs.
Prague received significant damage from what were deemed to be the worst floods ever to hit the capital. The flow of Vltava culminated at 5300 m3/s, 20% more than during the flood of 1845. Among the regions of the capital city most severely affected were Karlín, Kampa, Holešovice and Libeň, where there was a significant risk of building collapse. Most of Prague's artwork was saved due to warning of high water levels, but there was significant damage to the Prague Metro subway system, much of which was completely flooded, as well as to the historic Prague pneumatic post, which was forced to cease operation.
The collections of the National Library of the Czech Republic and the Prague Municipal Library were inundated. Despite the chaos and lack of preparation, Czech librarians and archivists were able to send a significant percentage of their flooded collections to be frozen, thus staving off immediate destruction of these historic collections by water or mold.
The Terezín Memorial and Prague's Jewish Quarter also received significant damage, a part of the estimated $30 million in damage to Czech cultural sites including: the Prague Municipal Library, Malá Strana, the National Theatre and Terezín.
The evacuations before the worst of the flooding have been cited as one of the reasons for relatively little loss of life in the capital. An estimated 40,000 people were evacuated from Prague. Among the animal deaths resulting from the flood was Gaston, a sea lion from the Prague Zoo who swam to Germany following the flooding of his aquarium. For some time, it was believed he would survive, but he died following capture in Dresden.
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2002 European floods AI simulator
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2002 European floods
In August 2002, a week of intense rainfall produced flooding across a large portion of Europe. It reached the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine and Russia. The event killed 232 people and left €27.7 billion (US$27.115 billion) in damage. The flood was of a magnitude expected to occur roughly once a century. Flood heights unknown since St. Mary Magdalene's flood were recorded.
Flooding resulted from the passage of two Genoa low pressure systems (named Hanne and Ilse by the Free University of Berlin) which brought warm moist air from the Mediterranean northwards. The effects of El Niño may have contributed. The floods gradually moved eastwards along the Danube, although the damage in the large cities on its shores was not as severe as in the areas affected by the floods later.
When the rainfall moved northeast to the Bohemian Forest and the source areas of the Elbe and Vltava rivers, the results were catastrophic water levels first in the Austrian areas of Mühlviertel and Waldviertel and later in the Czech Republic, Thuringia and Saxony. Several villages in Northern Bohemia, Thuringia and Saxony were more or less destroyed by rivers changing their courses or massively overflowing their banks.
The floods were part of a larger system that was also affecting Asia. Several rivers in the region, including the Vltava, Elbe and Danube reached record highs.
Prague received significant damage from what were deemed to be the worst floods ever to hit the capital. The flow of Vltava culminated at 5300 m3/s, 20% more than during the flood of 1845. Among the regions of the capital city most severely affected were Karlín, Kampa, Holešovice and Libeň, where there was a significant risk of building collapse. Most of Prague's artwork was saved due to warning of high water levels, but there was significant damage to the Prague Metro subway system, much of which was completely flooded, as well as to the historic Prague pneumatic post, which was forced to cease operation.
The collections of the National Library of the Czech Republic and the Prague Municipal Library were inundated. Despite the chaos and lack of preparation, Czech librarians and archivists were able to send a significant percentage of their flooded collections to be frozen, thus staving off immediate destruction of these historic collections by water or mold.
The Terezín Memorial and Prague's Jewish Quarter also received significant damage, a part of the estimated $30 million in damage to Czech cultural sites including: the Prague Municipal Library, Malá Strana, the National Theatre and Terezín.
The evacuations before the worst of the flooding have been cited as one of the reasons for relatively little loss of life in the capital. An estimated 40,000 people were evacuated from Prague. Among the animal deaths resulting from the flood was Gaston, a sea lion from the Prague Zoo who swam to Germany following the flooding of his aquarium. For some time, it was believed he would survive, but he died following capture in Dresden.