I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be doing this, but my computer is about 1000 years old and it takes about 20 minutes to regurgitate the 'Natural Disasters' thread now, because it's so long. Therefore, as Ren has requested a flood update and Ren's wish is my whim, I'm starting another thread here.

Things are still a mess. I was in Prague today. The Charles Bridge is closed and I couldn't get to Kampa to see if the Dobrovsky house is still there. There is no traffic in the centre at all barring cars with special permits and trams, and everything seemed very, very quiet. There are a lot of tourists hanging around the entrance to the bridge and looking cross, and some more in the Old Town Square watching the clock - actually a lot more tourists than I thought there would be. The stink of rotting mildew is omnipresent and not very pleasant. I don't want to seem shallow here, but judging from the piles of rubbish outside shops, a lot of people haven't cleared out their basements in about 50 years. Most of the stuff looked like the stuff I used to have in my basement. Of course, the Old Town was spared to a certain extent. The residential district of Karlin (near the bus stop Florenc) is completely closed, buildings are falling every day and it's apparently a charnel house - all the meat in all the restaurants, pubs, shops, and private freezers has to be cleaned out and apparently the smell is so bad that teams of cleaners are wearing gear the army was using in Iraq a few years ago.

There are rumours of chlorine gas leaks in the south, but nothing substantial yet. A number of villages have been totalled, and the roads are still pretty much impassible south, though west they're in better shape. Now people are starting to talk about the ecological damage to the region, which is considerable. A good thing is that there has been a quick and relatively efficent system of home loans set up and they are projecting new homes in many of the villages by Christmas. There are tons of offers for accomodation in the papers every day, and things seem to be relatively under control.

The National Library got off fairly easily (barring the card catalogue) but the Library of the City of Prague suffered a lot of damage. Some of the more valuable books they've bagged and put in freezers until they figure out how to dry them. There was a guy who owns a big freezing plant on tv last night because he volunteered a lot of space to the library. He was a real doll - very cute and very excited and really happy to show the tv crew the 1438 bible all wrapped in plastic. Libraries in Ceske Budejovice and Plzen have suffered similar damage. Apparently I hear that the British Council is in the process of locating some kind of new machine that dries books without damaging them. If this is true, thanks, guys. Also to the American Embassy, who have offered to pay for the cleanup on Kampa.

But, it's not over yet. The weatherman is predicting storms for the rest of the week. In Germany they're still waiting for the surge around Hamburg. Our school year starts on Monday (teachers) and kids start Monday next - except, of course, in parts of Prague and places where the schools are either badly damaged or still full of evacuees. A friend of mine was teaching in Chicoutimi (Quebec) after the Saguenay floods and she tells me that it's not going to be a good year. The year she was there, every time it started to rain the kids got very, very jumpy.

Anyway, that's about it. We'll see what happens.

Your update is very much appreciated! After I left Prague I haven't heard anything on the current situation. I think that's because the news is focusing on the German floods that still have to come. Good to hear that not everything is lost. From what I saw I expected the worst. I heard people were being vaccinated against all kinds of diseases. Is it so dangerous to walk around in the drying areas?

That was fast. Yes, there is a big danger from infection. Clean-up crews are wearing masks, rubber gloves and boots, and they're trying to pull together something like 60,000 shots against hepatitis. Kids first, of course, and those in terrible areas like Karlin, Troija or in some of the villages. How are you? Back to normal?

Yep! With new students all over the city and a students club to promote everything got back to normal very fast. The shock of being stuck has faded and although I can still feel the emotions going along with it, the memories of the first (dry) days surface more and more. I can even think about going back once, where as a week ago I detested all Czechs and all of the Czech Republic... Sirenes still do me no good, though .

Are there many collapsed historical buildings in Prague and Czesky Krumlov, or is it mainly the newer ones that are damaged? From what I saw while on the train to Germany I am amazed that not everything is totally flattened!

The whole thing sounds completely horrific. Hoewever it is good to know that some support is coming from people like the British Council and the freezer plant guy. The future won't look so bleak with help like that around, I suppose. All the same, the amount of work to be done seems daunting , to say the least.Thanks for the update.

No, most of the historic buildings are so far so good. They've already been through a couple of floods, including the last really big one in 1890. The interiors may be damaged, but they were built from stone and I think most of them will be fine. The falling ones are the big turn-of the century apartment blocks in Karlin or the village houses made cheaply 150 years ago with plaster over unfired brick. In many cases, the house literally melts. This is doubly unfortunate because the real historic marvels will be quickly restored - they are all embassies, posh hotels, or owned by the state or the city. It's people who don't have much money who are homeless. A lot of the villagers will profit from the home-loan plan, but the city dwellers have a problem.

Yes, there is a lot of help pouring in and things will be ok eventually. I hope. It's good to hear you're pretty much back up to speed, Lo, but I guess school does that to anyone! Yeah, people in CZ are pretty nice, especially if you stay out of Prague! Definitely come back again and you'll see what I mean.

I'm a great fan of Prague but had no idea that the city was so vulnerable to flooding. It is a relief to hear that the historic buildings are, for the most part, safe. Obviously, I'm well aware that this is of little comfort to people who've been made homeless.