Arab communities in Central Europe cope with floods through cooperation and communication
Witness Central Europe The worst floods in at least two decades have left a trail of destruction from Romania to Poland, through the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, killing at least 23 people so far.
Since last week, it has caused Storm “Boris” With widespread flooding and heavy rain, factories and shops across central Europe were forced to halt production lines and close their doors.
The border areas between the Czech Republic and Poland were badly damaged over the weekend, after days of heavy rain, with some bridges collapsing and homes destroyed, while villages and towns in eastern Romania were flooded.
While rivers in the Czech-Polish border area began to recede on Monday, flooding spread to more areas and left major cities in both countries on alert.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala described the situation as a once-in-a-century flood.
These countries affected by the floods include a number of Arab communities whose members reside there permanently or for the purpose of investment and completing their studies, which prompted us at “Akhbar Alaan” to communicate with some members of these communities to check on their conditions and follow up on how they are coping with this difficult and unprecedented situation in many cities.
unprecedented event
Natalia Abu Nassif, a Lebanese woman living in Czech capital PragueNo one in her circle of acquaintances was injured by the floods, which varied in severity from one area to another in Prague, she said, adding that although bad weather is not unusual there, what happened this time was unprecedented, at least since she moved to live in the Czech Republic 6 years ago.
Abu Nassif continued in her interview with Akhbar Alaan, that there is constant communication between members of Arab communities of different nationalities, especially in such events, where what is happening is shared on social media, through pages and groups concerned with conveying news to communities of the Arab world, which keeps them constantly informed.
Natalia pointed out some of the measures that were taken in the Czech capital, especially since the authorities warned citizens before the storm arrived, noting that the tourist area such as Prague 1 and Prague 5 received stricter measures than others, as they are directly on the river, as walking was prohibited in these areas by the police, for example.
Transport disruption and internet damage
“Saturday was a difficult day,” says Natalia, because of the heavy rains that caused… Rising river levelsEven the Czech authorities declared a state of alert on this day amid expectations of increasing water levels throughout the day, and evacuation plans have already been put in place in nearly 150 local areas at the flood warning level and about 30 municipalities at the maximum warning level.
As river levels continue to rise and rain falls in the Czech capital Prague, authorities have erected flood barriers on the banks of the Vltava River in several parts of the city.
Abu Nasif pointed out that as a result of these conditions, some metro lines were closed, and many means of transportation were disrupted, which caused severe congestion, even with the continued operation of buses and trams.
Although the electricity was not cut off in Prague, according to Natalia Abu Nasif, it was completely cut off in other areas for 3 days, and the internet was somewhat damaged.
Regarding whether any of the members of the Arab community in Prague have been contacted directly by the responsible authorities, or by the embassies and consulates of their countries, Natalia says that they have not been contacted personally in this context, and their complete reliance was on following the safety procedures that are updated by the authorities via social media.
Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said the damage could amount to about 100 billion Czech crowns ($4.44 billion), equivalent to about 1.25% of GDP.
The high river levels affected almost all parts of the Czech Republic, except for some western areas.
The most affected areas were in the northeast, along the Polish border, in an area extending over 100 kilometres.
Parts of the country’s third-largest city, Ostrava, with a population of about 295,000, were damaged by flooding.
The Arab community is fine in Brno
As for Brno, the second most populous city in the Czech Republic after Prague, it did not suffer the greatest damage, according to the Syrian pharmacist Taher Kabab, who lives there. He confirmed that the Arab community within his framework was not harmed, but the roof of one person’s house was damaged due to the heavy rain, while a car accident occurred to another Arab family, without anyone being harmed.
Kabbe conveyed his testimony in his interview with Akhbar Alaan, where he indicated that public transportation in Brno was not greatly damaged, and that the city’s infrastructure was still standing, while some bridges were covered by water, while the sounds of ambulances and fire engines did not stop.
But he expressed his surprise that the authorities had not taken a decision to close schools, at least for children.
Malls are a way to charge phones
Kabbab added that the southern Czech Republic on the Austrian border and the northeastern city of Ostrava were among the most affected areas, noting that some cities such as Ostrava experienced power outages, and some residents were forced to resort to some “shopping malls” to charge their phones or mobile devices to follow the news.
Kabbab pointed out that he received some text messages on his phone, explaining the service numbers that should be contacted in the event of an emergency, adding that the Czech authorities placed bags containing a substance that reduces water, near the houses along the rivers, so that people can place them in front of the windows overlooking the basement of the houses to prevent water from reaching the basement at the bottom of the houses.
Although no official decision has been made to suspend studies, Kabbab pointed out that the educational process has been affected by the difficulty of transportation, noting that he remembers, for example, that one of the traffic lights was without electricity for two days, which forced some police officers to organize traffic themselves, after this caused severe congestion, as the light was located at a main intersection with many cars passing through it.
Danube River Protection Measures
In Hungary, flood levels have peaked and are expected to continue until Thursday, with flood levels expected to be lower than the record levels seen in 2013.
The Hungarian government has deployed large numbers of soldiers to help reinforce barriers around the Danube River, fearing flooding. Thousands of volunteers have also filled sandbags to reinforce barriers in order to protect dozens of residential areas overlooking the river.
Traffic restriction
As a result of the floods, Hamza Al-Dabash, a Jordanian citizen living in Hungary, said that traffic on tram line No. 2 at Pest Pier has been restricted from yesterday onwards, and cars have been banned from entering Margaret Island.
Margaret Island is an island of 0.965 square kilometres in the middle of the Danube River in central Budapest, mostly covered with parks and landscapes, a popular recreational area, and containing medieval ruins that symbolise the religious status of this island.
Al-Dabash told Akhbar Alaan that he had not heard of any harm to any member of the Arab community in Hungary, but he pointed out that due to the rapid rise in the water level of the Danube River, the mayor of Budapest ordered the issuance of a third-degree flood protection alert in all flood protection departments in Budapest.
Hamza Al-Dabash confirmed that while the educational process in Hungary was not affected by these floods, the transportation lines that pass on both sides of the Danube River were disrupted, in addition to the suspension of train lines between Budapest and Vienna.
The situation is dangerous
And in AustriaThe flood situation in Lower Austria is serious and firefighters are working continuously to rescue people trapped in their homes using rubber boats, said Didi Fahraflner, head of the fire brigade.
Akhbar Alaan contacted the Egyptian citizen Islam Fahmy, who lives in Austria, who indicated that the situation there was difficult, especially with the continued rainfall, the rise in river levels, the unprecedented spread of floods, and the increased risk of some dams collapsing under the pressure of increased water pressure and the transformation of city streets into rivers, as confirmed by the administration of the state of “Lower Austria.”
Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the federal disaster fund would be increased to 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) and companies badly hit by flooding would be able to defer tax payments.
The situation was particularly tense along the rivers Kamp and Krembs, which flow into the Danube. Lower Austria’s deputy governor, Stefan Pernkopf, said the region’s flood defences, which were reinforced after the devastating floods of 2002, were designed to withstand floods that statistically occur once in a century.
Poland
in Southwest Poland There are four counties covered by the highest level of hydrological flood warnings, Level 3.
The Polish Defense Ministry said more than 14,000 soldiers had been deployed to flood-affected areas.
For his part, Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed that the damage caused by the floods will amount to billions of Polish zlotys. Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said at a crisis meeting that 2 billion Polish zlotys ($521 million) in funds had been secured for immediate aid.
Romania
Heavy rains and subsequent flash floods in Romania have affected dozens of villages and small towns in eight counties, and were Eastern Galati and Vaslui counties Most affected.
While the government is still assessing the total cost of the damage, initial estimates indicate that around 6,500 homes were damaged, affecting more than 15,000 people.
The coalition government has allocated 100 million lei ($22.37 million) in immediate aid to families affected by the floods, while the Galati County Council has allocated just under 1 million lei to cover initial clean-up costs, including removing dead animals.
A drone image shows flooding in Galati County, Romania.
Romania has a mandatory home insurance system against natural disasters including earthquakes, floods and landslides, but the insurance group that oversees the system says average coverage rates in the rural areas of Galati and Vaslui are 7% and 8% respectively, well below the national average of 23%.
