Floods to peak in Dresden

Volunteers are battling to save Dresden's historic buildings from record floods which were expected to peak in the east German cultural capital early on Saturday.

Workers spent Friday night placing sandbags around buildings as weather forecasters predicted an ease in the rains that have sparked floods in Prague, Dresden and other cultural treasures of Central Europe.

Dresden's mayor estimated the damage at more than 100 million euros.

It is just one of many centres in Germany's former communist east ravaged by the deluge.

More than 30,000 people were evacuated from Dresden alone as the River Elbe rose from a normal summer level of about two metres to 9.29 metres on Friday.

It was expected to peak at 9.5 metres, well above the 8.77-metre record of 1845.

"The water is rising more slowly now but it is still a very scary situation. People are laconically comparing it to the damage after World War Two," said Susann Benad, a spokeswoman for a crisis centre set up by Saxony's Interior Ministry.

The floods have claimed at least 89 lives in Germany, Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic in the last week.

German officials have continued to evacuate nearby towns on the Elbe around Dresden, the capital of Saxony 120 miles south of Berlin.

Although many parts of Dresden remained dry, the flood has affected the historic inner city, including architectural landmarks like the Zwinger Palace, the Semper Opera and the Royal Palace.