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Preparations are in full swing for elections to regional councils and a third of the Senate which take place on Friday and Saturday in what are exceptionally difficult circumstances for the flooded regions.  The Interior Ministry is assisting the preparations both with people and material aid. According to the interior minister, 35 municipalities have been hard-hit by the floods, which represents an estimated 200 polling stations. He said that where polling stations cannot be set up or would not be accessible for all, voting can take place in tents. There are about 6 250 municipalities in the Czech Republic and about 14 000 precincts. The minister said that in addition to material aid, electricity would be secured by generators in all affected municipalities.

An average of 136.2 litres of water per square metre fell in Czechia since last Thursday until Monday, according to newly released data by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, In Bohemia the average was 112.8 litres, while in Moravia it was 183.4 litres per square metre.

The highest rainfall total, 516.7 litres of water per square metres, were recorded at the Rejvíz measuring station in the Jeseníky Mountains.

The amount of precipitation surpassed the 1997 floods, which saw the national average of 97.5 litres per square metres, with 59.2 litres in Bohemia and 174.6 litres in Moravia.

The semi state-owned power utility CEZ will establish strategic partnership with Rolls-Royce for the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), Prime Minister Petr Fiala told journalists on Wednesday, adding that the cooperation opens up the possibility for Czech companies to participate in the development of this type of nuclear sources and to join the global supply chain.

According to the Prime Minister, Czechia is not interested in buying ready-made small modular reactors, but wants to participate in their production on a global scale. Strategic partnership between CEZ and Rolls-Royce will make this possible, he said.

The first modular reactor in Czechia could be built at the site of nuclear power plant Temelin, southern Bohemia, in the first half of the 2030s.

Slovenia has provided the Czech Republic with ten large and 250 small dehumidifiers, the Foreign Ministry announced on the X network on Wednesday. According to the ministry, 10 large and 250 small dehumidifiers are heading to the country to help in the floo-affected regions. Czechia has already begun distributing 8,000 units from its own reserves.

Last summer, Czechia provided three temporary bridges and 30 engineers and soldiers to help Slovenia cope with the most devastating floods in the country’s modern history.