Floods plague Czech Republic as high water expected to hit more areas

There was still no sign of relief in flood inundated areas of the Czech Republic on Monday, after persistent rain swelled rivers across the country over the weekend.

The flood wave on the Morava river reached Litovel, nearly 200 kilometres east of Prague, with entire streets underwater, the CTK news agency reported.

Authorities in the small town with almost 10,000 people appealed to the population to heed the emergency services.

The mayor warned on social media: "In the next few hours, we expect a further increase in the river's water level."

Levels continued to rise in many other places. A state of danger was declared for the area around the town of Frýdlant in North Bohemia.

The highest flood alert level was in effect in the city of Hradec Kralove on the Elbe river.

In Ústí nad Labem, a city near the border with Germany, additional flood protection walls were to be erected during the course of the day to shield the city centre. The Elbe's crest was not expected there until Wednesday, at around 7.65 metres above the zero gauge point.

Contrary to fears, in the town of Troubky there have been no major impacts so far. The Becva river has not yet overflowed its banks. The town became a symbol of the 1997 flood disaster in the Moravia region, where nine people died and 150 houses destroyed.

Further rain was expected across the Czech Republic on Monday, which could be intensive in the south.

During the worst storms in years, masses of water swept through entire towns over the weekend, including Jesenik in the Altvater Mountains and Krnov near the border with Poland.

In Jesenik, emergency services had to rescue hundreds of people from the floods using boats and helicopters.