Death toll rises as central Europe floods bring chaos

LARGE swathes of central Europe were on flood alert last night as the death toll from swollen rivers rose and more people were evacuated from their homes.

The historic cities of Dresden and Prague were braced for flooding, although authorities downplayed fears that the massive flooding of recent years would be repeated.

In Romania, a child was carried away by a raging river in the region of Suceava, in the north of the country, and his grandfather almost perished in the torrent trying to save him.

A 13-year-old junior canoeing champion was still missing, two days after his boat capsized during a violent storm, police in the western town of Deva said.

At least four people, including two children, have already perished in the floods and two were missing in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The River Elbe on both sides of the Czech-German border continued to be the main focus for concern as the river rose to critical levels late on Friday.

Local authorities in Dresden, Germany, warned they might be forced to evacuate 1,000 people from their homes in Saxony’s main city today after the river rose above the seven-metre (23-foot) mark, more than three times its normal level.

The situation was stable in the two worst-hit Czech regions - south Moravia and south Bohemia. Around 2,000 people already had been evacuated from the south Moravian town of Znojmo and its surroundings on Wednesday and Thursday.