Floods in southern Moravia

The governor of south Moravia Stanislav Juranek has called a state of emergency in five villages where heavy floods killed two people and caused extensive property damage on Tuesday. A huge clean-up operation is underway in the region and volunteers are helping to pile up sandbags on river banks as protection against further flooding. Meteorologists have forecast more torrential rain over the next 24 hours. Tuesday's floods took the region by surprise and rivers rose by two meters in places. The Interior Minister Stanislav Gross, who visited the region on Tuesday, said the state would provide humanitarian aid. The damage has been estimated at over 30 million Czech crowns.