Further evacuations are planned

River Oder Continues to Rise

Water levels on parts of the River Oder in eastern Germany are continuing to rise, threatening fresh flooding for villages and farmland.

The authorities fear that a dyke along the northern section of the river is in danger of giving way. German soldiers and rescue workers are desparately trying to shore up the dyke with sandbags.

The region's main city, Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, has been on flood alert and plans have been drawn up for further evacuation. Already 8000 people have had to leave their homes.

Soldiers are trying to strengthen dykes

Late on Sunday, 9,000 people in the Oderbruch area, which lies to the north of Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, were also warned to prepare for evacuation. If the dykes burst around Oderbruch, where around 19,000 people live, the area will be transformed into a huge lake roughly the size of Hamburg.

The German air force is deploying Tornado aircraft to monitor the floods. The Tornado has high-precision infra-red cameras which can photograph the river levels and detect any rises, even at night.

An area the size of Hamburg is threatened

In Frankfurt-an-der-Oder itself, the water level fell slightly to 6.5 metres after reaching a record 6.57 metres. But the water is continuing to rise in other areas. Meteorologists say little rain is forecast in the next few days.

Floods have already devastated southern Poland and the Czech Republic over the past two weeks, leaving more than 100 people dead and thousands homeless.