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Blue Danube:floods in Europe
Has anyone heard anything about the flooding in Europe currently? I have read about evacuations in Prague, tourist sites closing, flood stage reached in Budapest. Would high water require vessel changes at bridges? More rain is forcast. Sure would like to hear something from Tauck since we leave tomorrow.
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Bev
Bev
Bev
Wonderdiver
Bev...see you Tuesday and Wonderdiver...look forward to meeting you. All fly safe.
Not sure if they ever have to cancel whole trip do to high river waters.
Terri
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-03/deadly-european-rains-trigger-floods-landslides/4728324
http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/central-europe-hit-with-worst-flooding-in-70-years-slideshow/street-sign-stands-flooded-centre-passau-photo-095155357.html
There is nothing posted either here on the website or on the Facebook page.
Terri
Five people were killed at the weekend in the Czech Republic, where the flooding was the worst in a decade and a state of emergency was declared, while in Austria two people died and another two were missing.
Officials in Prague, which is listed by the UN as a World Heritage Site, shut the metro system, and in streets near the river soldiers put up flood defences.
Tigers at Prague zoo were tranquilised and moved out of an enclosure at risk from flooding. The Charles bridge, a favourite spot for tourists that dates back to the 14th century, was closed.
Officials hoped the flood defences in Prague should hold, but said the river level was likely to rise again on Tuesday morning. "The story is not yet over here," said the environment minister, Tomáš Chalupa.
Tree trunks floated by in the muddy brown water. A riverside path, usually populated with cyclists and people sitting at cafes, was under water on Monday.
"We left England yesterday and it was sunny and warm. We didn't expect this; we don't even have our raincoats," said a British tourist, Alison Tadman, who came to Prague with her husband, Adrian, to celebrate her 47th birthday. She and her husband were sheltering in a McDonald's restaurant. "We're pretty disappointed," she said.
Some of the worst flooding was around the Danube river, which starts in Germany and snakes its way through countries including Austria, Slovakia and Hungary on its way to the Black Sea. The river was swollen by heavy rain at the weekend.
In Germany, the interior minister flew to the flood-hit regions on Monday and the chancellor, Angela Merkel, was preparing to go on Tuesday, a government spokesman said.
Shipping was stopped on parts of the Danube and Rhine rivers in Germany, and along the whole Austrian stretch of the Danube, because of the high waters. The rivers are important arteries for moving grain, coal and other commodities.
Thousands of people living in low-lying areas in Austria and the Czech Republic had to be evacuated from their homes.
The death toll in Austria rose on Monday after a man listed as missing was found dead in the province of Vorarlberg, local police said. The 58-year-old had failed to return home from a party on Saturday.
In the Austrian city of Salzburg, 160 passengers were put up overnight in army barracks after the floods stranded their train. The Austrian foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, told reporters the situation in some areas was very fraught.
The risk on Monday was that the flood danger could follow the course of the Danube river downstream to other European countries along its route.
Workers put up flood barriers along the banks of the Danube where it passes through the Slovak capital, Bratislava, and police shut several roads.
"We are getting bad news from Germany and Austria. We have to do all we can to protect ... the capital," the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said.
In Hungary, where the capital, Budapest, is also built on the banks of the Danube, state media quoted György Bakondi, head of the national disaster authority, as saying that 400 people were working on flood defences.
He said water levels in the river could reach or even exceed the height seen in the record flooding of 2002.
Please read my post ("Amazing Tauck Response") on the General Discussion. I tell in detail what Tauck did for us on our Prague to Budepest May 30 tour. It truly is amazing and much different from other companies. You need not worry about anyone on that trip.
Bev
However, I would rather not have to be in that situation if it can be avoided. Tauck is being very silent about what they are and are not cancelling.
Terri
We were on the Swiss Sapphire going east.
Bev.
Uniworld is canceling the June 7 cruises of River Ambassador (to Belgrade and to Vienna) and the June 9 sailing of River Beatrice. Impacted passengers will receive a full refund and a future cruise credit of $500. And Uniworld has canceled an additional cruise, the June 16 sailing of the River Empress. Passengers were being encouraged to rebook another date but were also being given the option of a full refund. They will also be compensated with a $500 per person future cruise credit. For cruises currently in progress, Uniworld is either altering the itinerary or canceling the remainder of the cruise. Passengers with cruises canceled mid-sailing will also receive a full refund and future cruise credit. They can elect to remain onboard while the line helps them make arrangements to return home.
Tauck has canceled two cruises. The line has cancelled both the May 30 and June 6 Blue Danube sailings on Swiss Sapphire. Other Tauck sailings are running as planned (or very close to the original schedule). In terms of compensation for passengers on affected cruises, the line said, "We have provided guests with a choice of remaining with us on an altered itinerary or departing early with full refund. The line is monitoring the situation and making adjustments on a daily basis."
Grand Circle has canceled three river cruises: the June 4 and 8 departures along the Main, Rhine and Danube on River Rhapsody and River Harmony, and the June 4 River Allegro departure on the Elbe River.
Four Scenic Cruises ships -- Scenic Diamond, Pearl, Jewel and Sapphire -- remain docked, as they wait for water levels to drop. Elliot Gillies, a public relations representative for the line, says Scenic is employing buses to transport passengers to their scheduled excursions and shoreside events.
I found this on cruise critic Good luck all these trips are wonderful. I did 2 of them.
Regards Nova
I found it on page 3 of General Discussions, 4th one up from the bottom. If you can't find it, I will copy and paste it for you.
Bev