Levees yield in Missouri, Germany and the Czech republic; flooding continues; thousands displaced

Levees were breached in two locations north of St. Louis, Missouri, flooding residential areas. According to CNN, “a 100- to 150-foot section of levee gave way outside West Alton, Missouri, Tuesday near the point where the Missouri River joins the Mississippi, St. Charles County's emergency management office reported… The levee failed around 1 p.m. ET and by the evening, authorities were scrambling to bolster about a three-quarter-mile section of levee near Portage des Sioux, about nine miles upstream from West Alton.”

In the town of Deggendorf, Germany, two levees broke along the Danube and Isar rivers flooding nearby houses and submerging the highway sweeping away cars. The Associated Press reports that houses were covered up to 3 meters (10 feet) deep in water.

In the Czech Republic, parts of Prague were inundated due to the rise in the water elevation of river Elbe. The current water elevation is four times the normal elevation. The Washington Post reports that “overall, 16 people have died since the beginning of the flooding last week, including eight people in the Czech Republic, five in Germany, two in Austria and one in Slovakia. At least four other people were missing in the Czech Republic.” Thousands have been evacuated.

Sources: CNN, Washington Post