“We have hopes that the price on the Danube will drop earlier, but we still have to get through five difficult days,” said Viktor Orbán after the meeting of the operative group in charge of flood protection, reports Hungarian Nation. The Prime Minister said about the flood defense that the defense took place over 755 kilometers, and the first victory was already achieved, because the water receded by one meter in the Szigetköz.
Today, the water level is the highest in Vác, and it will soon arrive in Budapest
added the prime minister. He indicated that in several places the flood fell short of the 2013 record, the water level in the capital is expected to be 59 centimeters lower, meaning that the forecast of the water department was accurate.
Photo: Prime Minister’s Press Office/Benko Vivien Cher / Source: MTI
He pointed out that the wharf is expected to be released at the beginning of next week, one or two days earlier than planned. The number of people participating in the defense also changed, 170 more people from the water department were mobilized, nine hundred soldiers are now needed, and many of them marched south with the water.
On Friday, only 5,344 of the official staff took part in flood protection, compared to the previous 6,149, and they see that 159 fewer people will be needed on the dams today. The number of civil guards increased from 317 to 574, there were 2,753 volunteers, and today 1,286 are working.
The sandbags have already been filled and most of them have been put out, now the task is more observation and patrolling.
The number of special protection municipal sites had to be increased, but this does not mean that the specific municipal sites are in danger, they just require more attention, emphasized Viktor Orbán. More sandbags were piled up, so there are about 30,000 more sandbags compared to Friday, a total of 1,893,100 sandbags.
The Prime Minister singled out Pilismarót, where the embankment slipped, and in a 16-hour struggle, with divers, the embankment was held. At Vác, the sewage manholes broke, but luckily it didn’t cause any problems, the specialists “caught it”. – There are new priority locations, such as Ercsi, where the readiness is 100 percent, with 1,400 sandbags, but we are also paying attention to Kisapostag, Dunaföldvár and Paks with sandbags – said the prime minister.
The prime minister asked everyone not to go out to the Danube bank to see the summit if they don’t have to, because that could hinder the defense. He indicated that in the afternoon they could concentrate their attention on the areas below Budapest. He stated: the attention must not wane.
In response to a journalist’s question, he also reported that the defense in Budapest is in good condition, that the work in the capital and the state are coordinated. Viktor Orbán sees that the defense system of the capital and the state can jointly protect Budapest.
2024-09-21 05:18:00