The great floods surge on

Raging floodwaters that have left 98 dead and more than 300,000 homeless are today continuing their surge across central Europe.

Having wreaked havoc in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, the Russian Black Sea coast and Switzerland, the heaviest rains for 150 years now threaten the Slovak capital, Bratislava, where the Danube has rose dramatically overnight.

Tens of thousands more flood victims have fled their homes. In eastern Germany, the Elbe, swollen by waters from the Vltava river, has burst its banks, forcing large areas of Dresden to be evacuated.

And the misery seems set to continue in the Czech capital Prague. Flooded streets crammed with some of Europe's most historic sites today face even worse damage. Forecasters predict that high winds could force the hugely swollen Vltava, which has claimed 10 lives across the Czech Republic, to breach new sandbag barriers.

At Prague Zoo, where keepers had to kill a 35-year-old elephant because they could not hoist him clear of rising water and where it is feared a sevenyearold gorilla drowned in his cage, the hunt was on today for a seal who escaped in the floods.

Across Germany, at least 12 flood victims have been killed and another six are missing. A state of emergency has been declared in several Bavarian districts.

In Dresden, the famous Semper-Opera opera house and Zwinger Palace have been flooded and thousands of works of art including Raphael's Sistine Madonna have been moved to safety. Army helicopters also flew out 400 hospital patients late last night and were today on standby to evacuate 3,600 more if necessary.

Dresden's main railway station remained deserted today as floodwaters rose above trains marooned in sidings and on platforms.

"The tributaries around the Elbe are overflowing and the Elbe is still rising," said a spokeswoman for Lower Saxony's interior ministry. She said the river was expected to reach 28 feet early today, its highest level since 1845.

In other East German cities, such as Chemnitz and Leipzig, residents have fled waist-deep water pouring over the banks of the Elbe. Early today German authorities were focusing on more at-risk cities, notably Dessau, and monitoring water levels at Bitterfeld, home to 350 chemical firms, including units of Bayer AG, which manufactures aspirin there.

Chancellor Gerhard Schr?der, on a visit to Saxony, described the situation as a catastrophe and promised federal aid.

The government of Austria, where the Danube has risen to record levels and flooding has claimed seven lives, agreed to release more than £400million in emergency funds.

A state of emergency has been declared in Slovakia as the Danube rose to dangerously high levels in the capital, Bratislava. Although much of the city remained open for business, many areas suffered power cuts, and flooded streets submerged cars.

The greatest number of deaths have been in southern Russia, where coachloads of Russian tourists were swept into the sea late last week. The death toll rose by one yesterday, to 59, although it is feared the eventual tally could be much higher.