PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Rivers swollen by recent rain and melting snow flooded towns and forced evacuations across central Europe on Saturday.
Anti-flood barriers were raised throughout the Czech capital of Prague, where the Vltava River was rising Saturday, authorities said.
Officials were contemplating further preventive measures, such as evacuating residents and closing subway stations.
Czech radio reported that up to 2,000 people will likely be evacuated in Olomouc, a city 155 miles east of Prague. About 10,000 people have been evacuated in the past week near the southeastern town of Znojmo, near the Austrian border.
In Germany the Elbe River breached a dam in Dresden and about 300 people were evacuated, city officials said.
Eight German cities were affected by flooding, with a total of 1,300 people forced to leave their homes.
In Austria, water levels receded slightly Saturday on the Danube River.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox