Thousands flee as flood waters threaten Dresden landmarks

MORE than 30,000 people were evacuated from historic Dresden yesterday as floodwaters in the Elbe River surged past an all-time high, closing in on cultural landmarks already waterlogged by an earlier wave of high water.

At the famed 19th century Semper Opera in the old city, emergency crews gave up pumping water out of the basement as the dirty brown tide kept rising yesterday.City authorities ordered bridges across the Elbe closed to all but emergency traffic.

The Elbe - fed by high water that earlier devastated Prague - rose above nine metres yesterday, shattering the previous all-time high of 8.76 metres reached in 1845. City officials said the flood wave was expected to crest on Saturday.