CEE FLOODS APPARENTLY PART OF WORSENING TREND
CAUSED IN PART BY ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

Heavy rain in the first two weeks of August brought death and property destruction to many countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), where floods, which are at least partially due to environmental degradation, seem to be occurring with greater severity and regularity.

On Aug. 12-13, about 50,000 Prague residents were urged to evacuate low-lying areas, and parts of the historic centre of town were closed, as the city braced for its worst deluge in 100 years, according to a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla on Aug. 12 declared a state of emergency in Prague and four other areas, as floods claimed seven lives in the country and forced thousands to evacuate from Ceske Budejovice, Cesky Krumlov and other communities in Bohemia, the report said.

The floods, spurred by especially heavy rain over many parts of Europe, have caused deaths elsewhere around the region: Ten people have been reported killed by weather-related incidents in Romania in the last three weeks, and flooding was blamed for at least two deaths in Bulgaria. Meanwhile, residents have been evacuated and homes have been lost in Croatia and Hungary, and waters are rising throughout the region.
Perhaps what is most disturbing about the region expecting to break century-old flood records is that the CEE just suffered its worst flooding in 100 years in July 1997. Fifty-two people died in deluges in Poland that year, while 46 were killed in the Czech Republic, and Hungary and Slovakia were also hit hard. In the years since then, countries in the region have continued to experience severe flooding. It seems that record-breaking floods are becoming a near annual event in the region.

Environmentalists note several ways in which unsustainable human activity may contribute to the increasing severity of flooding in CEE. Assessing the causes of the 1997 floods in Poland for The Bulletin of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), Rafal Serefin pointed to "a combination of factors, including the destruction of forests and associated soil erosion in mountain areas -- exacerbated since 1992 by a new Forest Law; . the poor state of flood defenses due to years of neglect; bureaucratized flood control management; destruction of wetlands and natural habitats; . and ineffective land use controls that permitted development in flood hazard areas."

In his analysis of the situation in the Czech Republic in 1997, Andreas Beckman cited problems caused by acid rain, which affected 80 percent or more of the trees in the Krkonose, Orlicke, Jesenik and Beskydy mountains. His article in The Bulletin further noted that, in the Czech Republic, "Between 1960 and 1990, 4,000 kilometers of waterside vegetation were destroyed. And another 240,000 hectares of field hedges -- which act as natural flood barriers -- were plowed under."

A similar situation creates steadily worsening problems in Hungary, as Krisztina Fenyo pointed out when reporting on causes of March 2001 flooding along the Tisza River. In her Bulletin article, Fenyo noted that some environmentalists in Hungary blame high water on un-checked tree harvesting up-river, in Ukraine.

Along with the loss of vegetation, past projects to straighten or shorten streams and rivers in the region have made them more vulnerable to flooding. "Experience from the Rhine shows that a 20 percent 'shortening' increases flood velocity by 50 percent," according to Serefin.

But the loss of vegetation and bad engineering may not be the only culprits. According to Fenyo, the majority of environmentalists in Hungary seem to feel that climate change is a major contributor to the problem. These experts say that the region's weather has grown increasingly severe in recent years, and that pollution from green-house gases is to blame.

Although the countries of the region cannot eliminate climate change by themselves, they are taking steps to lessen the effects of flooding. Hungary, which is one of the most flood-prone countries in Europe, due to its flat terrain and its position at the bottom of the Carpathian Basin, is planning to spend HUF 120 billion (about USD 400 million) by 2006 to add to its existing 4,200 kilometres of dykes. And the European Investment Bank announced June 3 that it is providing a EUR 60 million loan to the Czech Republic for projects designed to prevent flood damage.

If, as many believe, climate change is the biggest contributor to the trend of ever-worsening floods in the region, these investment efforts may not be very effective. The implications for humans and their environment are far-reaching, and not limited to the problem of water damage: One of Europe's worst environmental accidents in recent years -- the January 2000 Tisza River cynaide spill, which began at a gold mine in Romania and also affected Hungary and Yugoslavia -- was brought on by heavy flooding.

 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Below are government experts from around the region who can discuss the situation in their country. These contacts can be found in the REC Government Directory at:
http://www.rec.org/REC/Databases/GovDir/Default.html
Other sources can be found in the REC Media Source Directory at:
http://www.rec.org/REC/Databases/Media/Media.html