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Towns and villages in north Bohemia were bracing themselves for flooding on Saturday, after heavy rain and melting snow caused rivers to burst their banks. As water levels slowly return to normal in the rest of the country, the northern city of Usti nad Labem was preparing for a wave of floodwater from the swollen river Elbe. Officials are also closely monitoring the River Vltava in Prague, where villages on the outskirts of the city have already been flooded. There has also been isolated flooding in southern and western Bohemia. The worst floods in five hundred years devastated large areas of the Czech Republic in August, leaving more than a dozen people dead and causing several billion dollars of damage.

Prime Minister Spidla also said on Friday he expected key negotiations on finding a successor to President Vaclav Havel to take place after January 15th, when the two houses of parliament meet in a joint session to elect a new president. Mr Spidla said talks between the parties in parliament had not secured sufficient support for any of the official candidates to win in the first attempt. Mr Spidla has in the past not ruled out changing the constitution to allow a direct election if the January 15 vote fails to choose a successor to Mr Havel, who retires on February 2nd after 13 years in the post.

The discovery of extra revenue and lower costs at the year's end has allowed the government to unexpectedly cut its 2002 budget deficit. Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Friday that year-end figures revealed a 2002 deficit totaling 45.7 billion crowns, or 1.5 billion dollars, far below the 62 billion crown deficit approved by parliament. The announcement came in the face of increased pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, which have criticised the government for failing to spend within its means. Last month parliament passed a 2003 budget with a record-high deficit of 111 billion crowns.

Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has said there is no danger that rising river levels in areas of Bohemia will lead to floods like those which caused devastation in August. Mr Spidla said on Friday that he was aware of the tension which had arisen over the rising river levels in recent days but reassured the public the situation was being constantly monitored and was under control. New anti-flood measures are being prepared and will draw upon 3.7 billion Czech crowns made available by the European Solidarity Fund, said the prime minister. The worst-hit river at the present time is the Vltava, which should be at it's highest in Prague around 10 o'clock on Friday evening.