Police evacuate Prague's tourist centre due to floods

Czech police have evacuated the Old Town of Prague due to the fears of flooding.

The evacuation was a surprise because authorities had only hours earlier suggested that flooding risks for the area were diminishing.

Police circled the capital's tourist centre with loudhailers, ordering residents to move to higher ground.

Authorities also ordered residents in the former Jewish quarter to evacuate. An estimated 5,000 people are believed affected by the orders.

Czech defence minister Jaroslav Tvrdik said: "The situation is not optimistic, but I think we can still cope with it."

Emergency workers have been hoisting telephone poles and other debris from the swirling Vltava River.

Officials say at least nine people died after more than a week of heavy rainfall. Across Europe, the death toll rose to at least 88.

In neighbouring Austria, where at least seven people have died, firefighters and Red Cross volunteers using sandbags worked into the night to hold back parts of the swollen Danube River. The waters flooded Vienna's port and some low-lying streets.

The Defence Ministry say 8,000 soldiers battled floods in Upper Austria and along the Danube after flooding that affected an estimated 60,000 Austrians.

In Salzburg province, more than 1,000 buildings were under water, and in the badly flooded Danube town of Krems, residents were urged to abandon lower floors.