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floods may cost $20b |
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FLOODING spread through eastern Germany yesterday, threatening
to add to the misery of tens of thousands forced from their
homes as the country faced its biggest relief effort since
World War II. In Hungary, the Danube River peaked at a
historic high in Budapest after relief workers spent a frantic
night reinforcing dikes with sandbags. Europe is wrestling
with the aftermath of violent storms that swept the continent
two weeks ago. The floodwater has ebbed in Austria and the
Czech Republic and begun to fall in Dresden, the biggest
German city hit so far, allowing the start of a massive
cleanup and rebuilding operation expected to cost some US$20
billion Europe-wide. Forecasters in Germany predicted
generally dry weather over the next few days. But thousands of
emergency workers, soldiers and volunteers were working round
the clock to pile tons of sandbags onto sodden dikes along
Germany’s Elbe and Mulde rivers. Sweeping toward the North Sea
from the hills on the Czech border after record rainfall, the
Elbe forced workers to retreat after bursting its banks in
seven places Sunday. Rescuers used boats and ropes to bring
several people trapped in their homes to safety and were
scouring nearby villages to ensure everyone had been
evacuated. (SD-Agencies)
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