Heavy rainfall will hit the Czech Republic from midnight on Thursday, September 12, which will last until the end of the week. The most rain should occur during Saturday. The warning for extreme precipitation applies to the entire territory of the Czech Republic, except for Karlovy Vary and part of the Ústí Region. The heaviest precipitation is predicted by the models until Sunday evening in the belt from Novohradské hory through Vyso?ina to Jeseníky. Especially in the northern and northwestern windward of the Jeseníky Mountains, the models give extreme precipitation totals of over 300 millimeters in four days.
"In view of the warnings and predictions of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (?HMÚ), we convened a meeting with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture and representatives from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, the Vltava River Basin and the fire rescue service. The situation that awaits us in the coming days will probably be similar to the situation we experienced in 1997 and 2002. It should start raining tonight and a flood warning has been issued for almost the entire territory of the republic, with the exception of the Karlovy Vary region and partly in the Ústí region. The situation will also be complicated in terms of strong winds, which can cause tree falls and landslides in connection with waterlogging of the soil. The worst situation should be in Jeseníky, where according to the optimistic scenario, 395 mm of precipitation should fall, in the case of the negative scenario, 452 mm. Not only areas near rivers are at risk, flash floods can also cause damage in valleys and on slopes," said Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík (KDU-?SL).
At the same time, Minister Hladík added: "I want to assure you that we are preparing as a precaution in coordination with other security and state units that are trained for this scenario. This evening there will also be a meeting with the governors, who should inform the mayors and convene a meeting of the flood commissions. At the same time, a meeting of the central flood commission will be convened tomorrow. We don't want to scare residents, but it is important that we are prepared for the worst case scenario. We are doing everything we can to handle the situation as best we can."
Individual watersheds are also preparing for the expected rainfall. Twice as much water is now flowing out of the Vltava Cascade as is flowing into it. That's 80,000 liters of water every second. Water managers also increased outflows from important waterworks in other parts of the country, especially in the Morava and Odra basins, where the heaviest rains are expected.
"Since yesterday, I have been in close contact with the management of all five Povodí enterprises. We gradually increased the outflows from important water reservoirs in order to expand the retention capacity to capture the expected high rainfall. We monitor the current hydrological situation and the current weather forecast in detail and adjust the handling of individual water bodies accordingly. Our goal is to ensure a sufficient volume for the transfer of flood flows," said Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný (KDU-?SL).
As a preventive measure, Povodí enterprises also ensure the continuous service of the water management control center as well as the availability of operational workers, members of flood commissions and technical and safety supervision staff even outside of working hours. Watersheds also routinely check the readiness and condition of individual structures and equipment, such as mobile barriers or pumps. They also contact the representatives of all the municipalities in which it will be possible/necessary to build prepared mobile walls.
"Today we will discuss the next course of action with the governors, the components of the Integrated Rescue System are also intensively preparing for the situation and strengthening their capacities. We will also be in close contact with city and municipal governments. We ask everyone to follow the current news and recommendations of firefighters and other units of the IZS," says Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN) .
CHMÚ will regularly update the prediction and inform the public about the current situation. "The warning has been valid for part of the territory since midnight today, from Friday afternoon the warning has been extended to almost the entire territory of the Czech Republic, with the exception of Karlovy Vary and part of the Ústí Region. It will probably be the biggest flood situation since 2013, when our territory was also hit by extreme rainfall," says the director of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Mark Rieder, adding that the pressure low will advance from the central Mediterranean over central Europe, where it will remain almost motionless at first. only during Sunday and early next week will it begin to slowly move eastward. Heavy precipitation will intensify on the north and northwest winds of the mountains due to strong winds, which should blow in the Czech Republic from Friday until Sunday.
Expected development of precipitation, current information as of Wednesday 9/11.
Thursday, September 12
The rain will intensify during the day, especially in eastern Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, where 20 to 40 mm should rain, and up to around 50 mm in the Jeseníky Mountains.
Friday, September 13
We expect heavier rain in the south and east of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia with totals of 20 to 60 mm. On the windward side of the mountains in the north of the country, from the Lusatian Mountains to the Jeseníky Mountains, it may locally rain around 100 mm.
Saturday, September 14
Rainiest day, especially its first half. It will rain 20 to 60 mm in the south-eastern half of the territory, in the Novohradské hory and on the mountains in the north from the Lužické hory to the Beskydy and the White Carpathians it may locally rain over 100 mm, in the Jeseníky mountains even around 170 mm. In Bohemia, the rain will decrease during the day from the west.
Sunday, September 15
Quite a lot of uncertainty already. Precipitation totals are most often 15 to 40 mm, on the north-west windward of the mountains it can locally be up to 70 mm. The rain should gradually decrease during the day in most areas.
At the beginning of next week, the rain will probably subside in the Beskydy Mountains with the highest totals around Lysá hora.