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The situation is reported to be critical in other parts of the Czech Republic as well. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in south Bohemia where the city centres of Ceske Budejovice, Cesky Krumlov , Plzen and Strakonice are under water. Many of the smaller towns and villages in South Bohemia have been flooded or cut off by the flood. At least one evacuated village is reported to have been seriously damaged, with whole houses collapsing. Parts of North Bohemia and Moravia, the eastern part of the Czech Republic, are also effected, though to a lesser extent. Ten people are known to have been have been killed in the flood, and at least two people are reported missing at the present time.

Following an emergency government session on Tuesday Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla appealed on the public to cooperate with the authorities and not hamper rescue efforts. He said the government was releasing 380 million crowns for immediate expenditures and that more aid money would be made available in due time. The European Commission is also said to be considering ways of helping the Czech Republic. President Havel is cutting short his holiday in Portugal and will return to Prague on Wednesday.

Several towns have been cut off and many villages flooded as new rain continued to swell rivers in south-central Bohemia. Whilst firemen and soldiers have already evacuated a number of towns and villages, the regional governor in central-Bohemia called for people living around the Berounka and Vltava rivers to prepare for further evacuation. People have also been told to leave parts of the UNESCO-protected town of Cesky Krumlov - the second most popular tourist destination after the capital city, Prague. Jan Bauer, the mayor of the southern town of Prachatice, told Czech Radio that the flooding had left trains and buses not running because bridges have fallen and roads are damaged. Whilst floods sweeping across Europe have killed more than 60 people in the last week, the Czech Republic has reported four casualties so far. Another three people - including two voluntary firemen - died of heart attacks during rescue work.

Jiri Kolar, one of the Czech Republic's most famous and influential artists is dead. After a series of illnesses that left him weak and exhausted, he died in his apartment in Prague on Sunday at the age of 88. Mr Kolar is mainly known for his poetry and unique collages. After the rise of Communism in 1948, he went through a decades-long struggle to be allowed to publish and exhibit. His refusal to compromise resulted in a nine month prison sentence in 1950, which led him to sign the Charter 77 human rights declaration along with other opposition figures such as the current Czech President Vaclav Havel. In 1980, Mr Kolar emigrated to France, where he stayed until the collapse of Communist rule in 1989. Mr Kolar had several exhibitions in western Europe and the United States, including a 1981 show in New York's Guggenheim Museum.