– The good news is that the forecasts were correct, with no significant precipitation anywhere in the last two days. We expect the weather to remain dry, which will help our protection efforts," Viktor Orban told journalists at the flood briefing on Friday morning.
Extended Protection
PM Orban emphasized that the flood protection efforts now cover 754 kilometers, an increase from 614 kilometers yesterday. We have extended first-degree protection along 68 kilometers and ordered third-degree protection along an additional 114 kilometers, he said.
All forecasts are accurate, with only a one- to two-centimeter difference in the highest water levels," Mr. Orban added.
– he addd.
Yesterday, an additional fifty people were mobilized in the water sector, another six-hundred in the emergency services, and a further 150 in the civil defense.
Viktor Orban also highlighted that 6,149 people were at work yesterday, an increase of 321 professionals. The number of volunteers has decreased, not due to a belief that flood protection efforts are less important, but because they have completed the initial physical phases of the effort. Operators at the flood protection hotline have received more than four hundred calls since yesterday.
Yesterday alone, 311,000 sandbags were filled, bringing the total to 1,862,500 sandbags used for protection so far, Mr. Orban said.
The PM outlined the flood preparedness of various municipalities:
In Pilismarót, 99 percent preparedness is in place, and alternative transport routes have been secured to protect Highway 11. Tahitótfalu, Leányfalu, Vác, and Kismaros are all 100 percent prepared, and everything is in order on Budapest's Margaret Island.
The operative team is now monitoring areas and protection structures south of Budapest, in the municipalities of Báta, Dunaszekcső, and Baja. PM Orban visited Kisoroszi and Pocsmegyer to check the state of preparedness in person. The situation in Kisoroszi, where protection reserves had to be deployed, looks better than in 2013, while Pócsmegyer is also close to the 100-percent mark. The task now is to maintain preparedness over the weekend.
Responding to a journalist's question, Mr. Orban emphasized that
trouble bringing people together is a Hungarian trait,
adding that, in his experience, this is also evident now. He noted that
people are calmer than in 2013.
The reason is that authorities can now assure people that there isn’t any danger we haven't already faced. The situation is serious, but there’s no need to panic.
If everyone stays in place over the weekend, there will be no problems,
– PM Orban stated. We will emerge stronger socially after the floods than we were before, assuming we don’t make any unexpected mistakes, he added. The prime minister indicated that he would only hang up his rubber boots around noon on Thursday, when it could be safely said, based on current calculations, that no major trouble is expected.
Regarding the delay in constructing the mobile dams in Vác and Kismaros, PM Orban noted that there had been a technical discussion on whether to build a temporary or permanent protection line, which would be established after the flood. He emphasized that the Esztergom protection line was flooded during construction but that the city would still be able to protect itself from any floods.
