The death toll across central and eastern Europe from recent flooding has risen to at least 74.
About 50,000 people have been ordered from their homes in Prague as the swollen Vlatva river threatens to engulf parts of the city.
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Volunteers build a protecting wall from sandbags on a bank of the Vltava river in Prague Photo: Reuters
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Czech Prime Minister Mr Vladimir Spidla has declared a state of emergency in five regions, including Prague. Seven people have died since the floods first hit the country 10 days ago.
Mr Spidla said the state of emergency will be effective until August 22nd and people will not be allowed to return to their homes until then.
In Austria, a fireman drowned, bringing the death toll to four after several rivers burst their banks to flood communities, block roads and sever rail links. The fireman (61) drowned in the northern province of Upper Austria.
Three others died yesterday after severe flooding in the western and northern provinces of Upper and Lower Austria and Salzburg.
In Germany, where firefighters and soldiers stacked sandbags to reinforce straining river banks, a man (71) drowned last night in flooding in Dresden, and German authorities said three other people were missing.
In southern Romania, three people died in a heavy storm, raising to 10 the number killed in bad weather over the past three weeks.
Police said a mother and her one-year-old daughter died last night when their house collapsed in strong wind. Four people in the house were injured.
The Defence Ministry said the wind overturned an army bus carrying military personnel, killing the driver and injuring seven people.
At least 58 Russian tourists at Black Sea resorts died at the weekend when their cars and tents were swept away. As many as 4,000 tourists were reportedly still trapped in Shirokaya Balka, a coastal village.
In northeastern Iran, at least 14 people drowned in flash floods.
AP/AFP