The Louvre and Orsay museums were shut while staff moved artworks to safety as flood levels climbed above 6m (18ft).

The Seine, though it appears to have peaked at 6.1m, is unlikely to recede over the weekend with more downpours forecast.

In Paris, the Cluny – La Sorbonne and St Michel metro stations were closed as a precaution while the river spilled onto the city’s streets.

Bridges were closed and non-emergency boats were banned from the Seine as its swelling forced the closure of museums, parks and cemeteries.

At the Louvre, curators scrambled to move 250,000 artworks to higher ground from basement storage areas at risk of inundation from what President Francoise Hollande called “exceptional flooding”.

Authorities have even taken initial steps to transfer the presidency and key ministries to secure areas, AP news agency reported.

An apparent equipment fault led to the river’s depth being wrongly measured for several hours on Friday.

Many locals have preferred to benchmark the rise against the statue of a soldier – known as the Zouave – standing below the Alma Bridge: His frame is currently submerged up to the waist.

While France’s rainfall levels in May were the highest since 1873, the current crisis is eclipsed by the 1910 floods that saw Paris submerged for two months, when the Zouave was up to his neck in the Seine.

The river level peaked at 8.62m that year, and has since reached 7.1m in 1955 and 6.18m in 1982.

source: BBC

Villages in Hungary have been evacuated as Central Europe’s worst floods in over a decade hit the country. Emergency services and volunteers are working to prevent the devastation and the Prime Minister has declared a state of emergency. Along more than 700km of the river, thousands of people, including many volunteers and even convicts from prisons, are reinforcing the banks of the river with sandbag barriers. Residents have been using boats as transport, trying to rescue what they can.

In Budapest, some of the city’s subway stations have closed. Forecasters predict that water level will rise to as high as 8.86 metres, which is higher than the Danube’s previous record set in 2006. River levels were expected to be at their highest early on Monday. Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos said that in a worst-case scenario up to 55,000 people may need to be evacuated.

decade – évtized
to declare – kinyilvánít, deklarál
along something – valami mentén
to include – belefoglalni, beleérteni
convict – elítélt
resident – lakos
transport -közlekedés
subway station – metróállomás
forecaster – időjós, időjáráselőrejelző
to predict – jósol
to set a record – felállítani egy rekordot
to expect – várni, elvárni
mayor – polgármester
worst-case scenario – a legrosszabb eset

]]> https://www.5percangol.hu/kozepfok_hallas_utani_ertes/listening-comprehension-exercise-about-the-floods-in-central-europe/ Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:00:08 +0000 https://cmsteszt.5percangol.hu/listening-comprehension-exercise-about-the-floods-in-central-europe/

Listen to the article and decide if the statements are TRUE or FALSE.

1)     So far about 14 people have died in the floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. T/F
2)     The Danube in Passau reached its highest level in 70 years. T/F
3)     In Prague this is the worst flood in the past ten years. T/F
4)     There have even been fires in the Czech Republic caused by the flood damage. T/F
5)     The Czech Republic is fighting the flood with sandbag barriers and metal walls. T/F
6)     Angela Merkel has sent out the army to help control the situation. T/F
7)     Three German cities have issued disaster warnings. T/F
8)     2002 water level records have been broken in Passau. T/F
9)     Railway stations, subway networks and ship traffic have been closed in the affected European countries. T/F
10)  Meteorologists are expecting less rainfall in the following days. T/F

Answers: 1) F, 2) F, 3) T, 4) F, 5) T, 6) F, 7) F, 8) T, 9) F, 10) T

Officials across central Europe issued disaster warnings and scrambled to reinforce flood defences today as rivers swelled by days of heavy rain threatened to burst their banks. At least five people have died and nine are missing due to floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic in recent days. The Danube in the southeast German city of Passau is expected to rise to its highest level in 70 years today and a spokesman for the city’s crisis centre said the situation has become ‘extremely dramatic’. In Prague, almost 2,700 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas as the country sees its worst flooding in a decade. Czech police said at least five people had died in the flooding. Firefighters evacuated homes in western regions and in villages outside the capital today and yesterday, rescuing 200 people. Czech officials said the waters of the Vltava river could reach critical levels in Prague and that special metal walls were being erected to prevent flooding. Interim Mayor Tomas Hudecek said they were shutting down eight stations of the capital’s subway network and urging people not to travel to the city. Flooding was also reported in Austria and water levels rose in Germany and Poland after heavy rain in central Europe over the past week swelled rivers. The subway network in central Prague was halted due to the weather. It is the first time it has been closed since massive floods submerged the city in 2002 and caused billions of dollars of damage in the Czech Republic. Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas declared a state of emergency for most of the nation on Sunday and pledged 300 million crowns ($15.11million) for relief efforts. Troops started putting anti-flood barriers in place in Prague and volunteers helped pile up sandbags in areas popular with tourists in the ancient centre. The landmark Charles Bridge was closed and workers evacuated parts of Prague zoo. Levels on the Vltava river that cuts through Prague’s centre continued to rise. In Germany, where at least four people have died or are missing, Chancellor Angela Merkel promised federal support for affected areas and said the army would be deployed if necessary. The water level had risen by at least five meters in Munich. Several cities including Chemnitz in the east of Germany, and Passau and Rosenheim in the south, issued disaster warnings. Passau, which is located at the confluence of three rivers, could see waters rise above record levels of 2002, said Mayor Juergen Dupper. German news agency dpa reported that large stretches of the Rhine, Main and Neckar rivers have been closed to ship traffic. Evacuations are also taking place in neighbouring Austria and Switzerland. Rivers also were spilling over their banks in some rural areas of south-western Poland, and people have been evacuated.  Meteorologists are predicting the rainfall will ease in the coming days.
source: dailymail.co.uk

to issue – kiadni, kibocsátani
disaster warning – katasztrófa figyelmeztetés
to scramble – küzdeni, tolongani
to reinforce – megerősíteni
flood defence – árvíz védelem
to swell – duzzadni
to threaten – veszélyeztetni, fenyegetni
to burst – szétszakítani, kitörni
to expect – számítani valamire
to rise – emelkedni
low-lying – alacsonyan fekvő
to erect – (fel)emelni
to prevent – (meg)akadályozni
to shut down – lezárni
to urge – sürgetni, ösztönözni
to halt – megállítani
to submerge – elmeríteni, elárasztani
damage – kár
to declare – kijelenteni
state of emergency – rendkívüli állapot
to pledge – fogadalmat tenni, ígérni
relief effort – segély
troop – csapat
barrier – gát, korlát, akadály
volunteer – önkéntes
to pile up – felhalmozni
affected –  érintett
to deploy – bevetni
confluence – egybetorkollás
stretch – szakasz
to spill over – átömleni, kiönteni
to predict – előrelátni, jósolni
to ease – enyhülni, csökkeni