Various June 8: The crest of the flood-swollen Danube River surged towards the Hungarian capital of Budapest on Friday, while communities along the Elbe in Germany braced for high water as the river churned toward the North Sea.
Elsewhere in central Europe, communities were beginning to count the cost of devastating floods that have hit Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
At least 19 people have died over the past week, and experts say the economic damage in Germany alone could top 11 billion euros (14.59 billion US dollars).
The Danube's crest left Austria on Friday and entered Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that water levels were above the all-time highs.
"The situation is clearly seen now, what we wanted to avoid has taken place. Unfortunately it came short. The fact is that along the border (where the Danube lies between Hungary and Slovakia) the water level is already above the highest level ever measured," Orban said in the western city of Gyor, on the Danube.
The Danube crest was expected to reach Budapest on Monday, and Mayor Istvan Tarlos said that in a worst-case scenario up to 55,000 people may need to be evacuated.
But he was confident that only the lowest-lying areas of the city would be exposed to the Danube's expanded flow.
Tarlos said the Danube was expected to rise to around 8.95 meters (31 feet) in the downtown area, while the walls along the river and temporary defences would be able to keep out waters rising to as much as 9.3 meters (30.5 feet).
Farther upstream in Hungary, about 900 people had to leave their homes because of the flood.
In neighbouring Slovakia, the situation was critical in the border city of Komarno where the Danube was still rising and was expected to do so until Saturday.
Rescuers, soldiers and volunteers have been filling sand bags to reinforce protective barriers.
In Germany, meanwhile, water levels were stabilising in the south and east, even as the crest of the Elbe rolled northward.
Authorities in Magdeburg, the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt, reported that water levels in the Elbe were higher than during record floods the region experienced in 2002. Since then, flood defences have been significantly upgraded.
The German military said some 11,300 soldiers were helping build sandbag barriers and flying helicopters over flood zones to ensure levees and dams were holding.
A 74-year-old man died after he was hit by a vehicle carrying sandbags in the eastern town of Wittenberg.
Five other flood-related deaths have been recorded in Germany, ten in the Czech Republic, two in Austria and one each in Slovakia and Switzerland.
