Hungarian town cut off, free calls, mobile internet and motorway: flood news round-up – UPDATED, VIDEO

Yesterday, the historic flood caused by Cyclone Boris from Austria arrived in Hungary, and the water level is rising quickly along the Danube. In Budapest, the river already deluged the lower Danube embankments, while in the Northern part of Szentendre Island, it enclosed a charming little town, Kisoroszi. The flood is threatening historic Budapest baths, Indian and Chinese Chess Olympiad participants may need to leave Margaret Island soon and a Hungarian settlement was flooded. Here are some photos of the historic Hungary flood.

A charming town on Szentendre Island is encircled by the Danube

According to Blikk, a Hungarian tabloid, the Danube cut off Kisoroszi, a small and charming Hungarian town on the Northern tip of Szentendre Island. Authorities say the settlement will remain enclosed for 6-8 days. Csaba Molnár, the town’s mayor, said they introduced extraordinary measures to protect people and local infrastructure. He said the water level might reach 890 cm, just like in 2013. He added they prepared the townsfolk for the next 6-8 days. Food supply will be undisturbed, and they have medical and firefighter services in Kisoroszi. In a worst-case scenario, patients can be transported to hospitals with motorboats.

Kisoroszi prepared for the flood, based on the local government:

Meanwhile, Indian and Chinese participants of the Chess Olympiad may need to leave their Margaret Island hotels due to the rising water level in Budapest. According to Blikk, the two teams and the Hungarian women’s team may have to leave the Hotel Thermal and the Grand Hotel on the island. Authorities are prepared for the evacuation if necessary.

Fast-food restaurant closed due to the flood

In Vác, a McDonald’s unit had to close due to the flood. The place is already protected with sandbags, but it will not operate for an uncertain period. River Danube regularly floods the local Diadal Square and Budapesti Street in case of high water levels.

According to portfolio.hu, the Danube conquered the small settlement of Vének, close to Győr. The number of locals is around 200, who could leave it in time.

Here is a video:

Free calls, internet and motorway use

To help protection efforts, Magyar Telekom announced that they would provide 100 minutes or 15 GB of mobile internet for free to their users between 18 and 30 September. You may activate them by sending +SOS100PERC or +SOS15GB to 1414, and you may use the pack in the EU, including Hungary. Yettel is giving unlimited internet for its customers for five days if you send ARVIZ to 1744. You may activate it until 24 September, but the use is limited to Hungary.

Béla Juhász, the mayor of Sződliget, a town north of Budapest, announced that drivers can use motorway M2 freely because of the closure of main road nr 2.

Danube flood threatens several historic Budapest baths

The flood approaching Budapest along the Danube will affect several baths and spas, necessitating protection measures, Budapest Gyógyfürdői es Hévizei (BGYH), the company that operates the baths, said on Wednesday.

With Margaret Island threatened with inundation, the popular Palatinus bath on the island is now closed to the public, the company said. Staff there have begun implementing protection measures, including 24-hour monitoring of the 10-hectare site and measures to protect the 100-year-old wave pool, MTI wrote.

High water levels are also endangering the Gellárt, Rudas, Rác, Király and Lukács thermal baths, as well as the Pünkösdfürdő pool, BGYH said. Water pumps, mobile power generators and sandbags have been provided to help protect each site, it said.

Leitha reservoir opened with benefits clear to see

The authorities opened the River Leitha reservoir system at dawn, and its effect on the flood peak in the river section above Mosonmagyaróvár, near the Austrian border, is clear to see, the National Water Directorate (OVF) said on Wednesday.

Water has been released in a controlled manner, safely and with the right timing to the designated areas, according to the OVF statement. While the Danube flood wave is currently peaking in the area of Devin (Dévény) in Slovakia, the water level is expected to rise at the Danube bend for two more days, and construction of temporary defences is still underway there.

The river swelled to the lower banks in Budapest at 10 PM on Tuesday, and the peak here is expected at the end of the week. The directorate and its partner organisations, as well as volunteers, are continually building temporary protection systems along embankments and levees to prevent flooding in populated areas, the statement said, adding that dams were under huge pressure, with prolonged peaks expected in the days ahead. For this reason, the public is asked not to go to the dams to look at or take photos, the statement said.

MVM takes flood defence steps

MVM Group has started safety measures, in coordination with national and local authorities, at its gas and electricity networks affected by flooding, the state-owned energy company said on Wednesday. Gas and electricity could be shut off in some settlements along the Danube, MVM said. MVM will keep its customers informed of changes on their website HERE.

UPDATE: Government weighs impact of flooding on SMEs

The government could provide support to small businesses hit by flooding, Richárd Szabados, the National Economy Ministry’s state secretary for SMEs, said on Wednesday.
Flood defence is the immediate priority, but the impact of the flooding on SMEs is being gauged, Szabados said, consulting on flood defence efforts in Esztergom, in the north of the country.

He said business organisations had been urged at a meeting of the Business Development Council on Tuesday to conduct a rapid assessment of damages caused by the flooding to SMEs, including closures, inventory delivery stoppages and staff shortages. On the basis of feedback, the National Economy Ministry could recommend support for those SMEs to the government, if necessary, he added.

Read also:

• Extreme flood reached Hungary: Danube bridge, border crossing closed, ferry service halted, train service changed – read more HERE
• End of danger? Train service between Budapest and Vienna restarted – details in THIS article

Featured image: Vének near Győr underwater. Source: MTI