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American Morning

Floodwaters Receding in Historic Prague

Aired August 15, 2002 - 07:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Now to central Europe, plagued by record flooding, the water is receding in some parts, but the trouble just getting started in others.
Mike Hanna back with us again today in Prague, the Czech Republic capital city, with more on what is happening there today.

Mike -- good afternoon.

MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, hello there, Bill.

The sun has come out. It does appear to be a normal, late-summer day in Prague, normal, that is, apart from the floodwaters still rushing through the city. But the good news is these floodwaters have dropped, they have reached their peak within the last 24 hours, and now, gradually the Vltava River is beginning to subside.

If we look across the water, we can see it is still flowing exceedingly strongly. But if we that building on the other side of the river there, the water, 24 hours ago, was right at the top of that restaurant sign. So that means that it's dropped between 1-and-a-half to 2 meters, that is some 7 to 11 feet, within the last 24 hours.

But still, the damage has been intense, and that is what is being measured at the moment. You can see the bridge there. This is the Czech Bridge. The debris gathered up against statutes on the bridge. Now, that debris rubbing against these old statutes, these centuries' old buildings and arches of the bridge, this in a very small way reflective of what has happened in a very large way all around.

All of the historic buildings lining the Vltava River damaged to a greater or lesser degree, and that is what the authorities now attempting to ascertain exactly how much damage has been caused.

The mayor of the city says that people may be able to move back into their homes in the next one to three days. That is some people. That is areas that have been declared safe. But in other areas, says the mayor, it could be up to two to three weeks before people are able to return home.

Some 10,000 to 20,000 -- sorry -- some tens of thousands, well over 50,000 people, were evacuated from their homes before the flood reached its height. No current yet as to exactly when they are going to be able to go back, and no current yet as to exactly what the extent of the damage from these floodwaters has been -- Bill.

HEMMER: Yes, and, Mike, as you had pointed out that bridge, there is another famous bridge there, the Charles Bridge. They've actually set up cranes on top of it to help clear out the debris to make sure there's no structural damage. Has that been effective?

And also, I understand there's a museum that had about $40 million worth of artwork in the lower levels of that museum. How much and do we know how much of that has been saved?

HANNA: Yes, well, the emergency measures that went into place have, to a degree, been effective. As you mention, when that river was really pouring down, there were cranes on some of the bridges, in particular (AUDIO GAP). And the cranes would lift out heavy objects as they came under the bridge to stop them from shattering into the arches of the bridge. This was done on a regular basis throughout.

Also, flood embankments were built on the sides of the river, sandbags were laid down, particularly in those buildings that you referred to.

For example, the National Theatre just up the river here suffered a great deal of flood damage. However, the artifacts that were in its bottom were able to be moved to higher levels. So no real damage there, apart from damage to the building.

And it's this structural damage, which engineers are trying to ascertain, because that is the question, how extensive has the damage been at the very base of these historic buildings and of these historic streets all around -- Bill.

HEMMER: It's so ironic to see so much sunshine today in your report today from Prague. Thank you, Mike -- Mike Hanna in the Czech Republic there.

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