Village that symbolised 2002 floods inundated again

Although Prague has largely been spared since flooding began in the Czech Republic on Sunday, other places have not been so lucky. One such spot is Zálezlice. A village of 400 inhabitants north of the capital, it was one of the symbols of the catastrophic floods of 2002 and has this week been inundated again.

Zálezlice, photo: CTK

It took years for the village of Zálezlice in the Mělník area to recover from massive flooding in 2002: then, it was one of the hardest hit of all municipalities in the country, devastated beyond recognition. One hundred and twenty-one homes in the village collapsed as a result of the floods and the damage totalled 200 million crowns. The town hall’s web pages show how far things had come: newer buildings with (as the page’s authors put it) a “young” look. Beyond appearances, an important addition was a kilometre-and-a-half long flood barrier that was a mere three months from completion. Unfinished, it wasn’t able to keep surging waters back: once again parts of the village were hit, leaving residents like Václav Bečička, who experienced the same eleven years ago, in shock.

“I was younger when it happened before, now I am old. What can I do?”

Petr Nečas in Zálezlice, photo: CTK

The mayor of Zálezlice addressed the situation on Tuesday, together with regional governor Petr Bendl and the prime minister, Petr Nečas, who repeated that help was on the way. The three held a televised briefing in the village after surveying the damage. The mayor of Zálezlice, Jiří Čížek, elaborated on the situation:

“We prepared for floods of the same intensity as 2002 and we decided not to delay and to operate under a more pessimistic scenario. Let me stress that the barrier that was breached was only provisional. The company in charge brought in material but it wasn’t set, so the pressure was too great and the water was, unfortunately, able to get in. We might have avoided flooding altogether if it hadn’t been for a number of factors, including a more intense flow than originally expected.”

The total damage this time has yet to be tabulated; all the same, Mayor Čížek made clear he is optimistic. For one, he expressed the conviction that in the future the finished flood barrier will fulfil its role; more important in the immediate aftermath, is the reassurance by the prime minister that funds are available to help the village recover once more.

Mayor Jiří Čížek:

Photo: CTK

“It is good news that funds have been set aside for clean-up and repairs. It is probably not necessary at this time to specify exactly how the funds will be divided: what’s important is that they are available and that things are working the way they should.”

Soon the costs will be added up and the long and difficult process of cleaning up and rebuilding will begin. Other areas on Wednesday, namely Dečín and Ústí, unfortunately, are not there yet, still awaiting the worst: waters there on the heavily swollen Labe River are only expected to peak late Wednesday.