75 die in worst European floods

Heavy rains across central Europe have led to the worst flooding in decades, claiming the lives of 75 people.

At least 58 people died in the Black Sea area of Russia over the weekend, where thousands of Russian tourists were caught out by floodwaters that swept cars and tents out to sea.

One of the worst-hit cities is Prague where more than 50,000 people, including foreign tourists, are being evacuated today as the most devastating floods for more than a century threaten to engulf the Czech capital. Soldiers and hundreds of volunteers worked into the early hours building sand-bag barriers. But as torrential rain continued to fall overnight it was predicted that much of the city would be under water by this afternoon and a state of emergency has been declared.

Mayor Igor Nemec reported parts of Mala Strana, the medieval area of the picturesque city centre, were almost certain to be seriously flood-damaged as the deluge forced dams on the river Vltava, which flows through Prague, to open their gates. Mr Nemec said those who could drive away from low-lying districts should do so immediately, and that authorities would start taking people to schools and other shelters.

Jiri Friedel from Povodi Vltavy, a state company managing dams on the Vltava, said Prague had not seen the river as high since 1890. "Because of very bad weather and very intensive rain in the whole Vltava area, the water flow in Prague will rise to 3,100 cubic metres per second," he said. "This is nearly 20 times the average for this time of the year."

Elsewhere in the Czech Republic seven people have drowned and thousands have been forced from their homes since the flooding began several days ago. The authorities have declared a state of emergency in four other regions. Thousands have been evacuated from towns and cities including the regional capital Ceske Budejovice and Cesky Krumlov, another popular tourist destination.

In Austria, Salzburg has been declared a disaster zone and the capital Vienna is under threat. The Danube has been closed to all shipping as the river has swollen to a near 100-year high. Three people have been killed in towns near Salzburg.

In Salzburg itself, birthplace of Mozart, 1,000 buildings were partially or totally submerged, and the sightseeing boat Amadeus sank after being swamped in the flood-swollen Salzach river.

Emergency services in Upper Austria, where over three-quarters of the region is affected by flooding, said 8,000 workers and volunteers were ready to help evacuate residents along several rivers

"The scene is catastrophic," Wilfried Weissgaerber, the national fire brigade commander, said as he described collapsed houses and washed-out railway tracks. The country's emergency services are bracing themselves for further problems with meteorologists predicting further heavy rain overnight.

Experts fear the Danube will rise by as much as 30 feet, threatening several villages. "Numerous bridges and roads destroyed or damaged by the waters will not be able to be repaired before the end of the year," a spokesman for the Austrian motoring club OeAMTC said.

In Germany an eight-year-old girl was killed after being hit by an uprooted tree. A police officer died near Wismar on the Baltic Sea coast. Near the city of Jena, another driver was killed in an accident that injured nine others and a 68-year-old woman died of exhaustion while trying to clear her flooded basement in Dresden. In northern Germany a train derailed near Hamburg after running into a mudslide caused by the rain. Six districts in the southern state of Bavaria and others in the central Saxony region declared a state of emergency and the highway between Munich and Salzburg through the Alps was closed due to flooding. Many other roads were also blocked.

The Bavarian town of Passau was expecting a flood wave that could push the depth of the Donau river to over 32 feet, the highest level since 1954. In Switzerland, torrential rains caused a series of small landslides, including one that cut off a rail line between Chur and Arosa. Another on the Griesalp mountain swept away a bridge, stranding more than 150 people until an emergency span could be put in place.