Evening star., 1954-07-11
Danube Basin Flood
Hits Prague, Linz;
AT Least IA Dead
BY ihe Assoeiased press

- NV FtSSgesot~1 Eto41
VIENNA, Austria, July 10
Central Europe,s worst floods ia |
so years swept behind the IRON
Curtain today. pouring into the
Czechoslovak capital Of Prague. |
In Austria and Germany up to
$4,000 persons were believed
homeless.
Prague Radio said parts Of the
Troja and Liben Islands in the
Vltava (Moldau) River in the
middle of Prague were under
water.
Raging waters of the wreck
age-f1lled Danube meanwhile
poured into the Austrian steel
city Of Linz as q great inland
sea built up in the heart Of.
Germany's and Austria's richest
farmland.
Hundreds Of German and AUS
trian villages are under water.
Many of them are deserted.
Fourteen persons are known
dead. Many are missing. Thou
sands. including hundreds OF
American troops. are engaged in
rescue work
Nears Other Towns.
Radio Prague said the mount
ing waters Of the Danube also
were threatening villages near
Bratislava and along the Czech
Hungarian border. Czech army,
police. boAder guards and fire
brigades were busy evacuating
them, the broadcast said.
A great expanSe of water ex-
tends 300 miles over the banks
of the Danube from Regensburg
in Germany, to Vienna, the
Austrian capital. The normally
peaceful blue" Danube is a.
churning brown torrent, carry
ing debris from flooded farms,
battered bridges, power sta
tons and homes. The bodies of
hundreds of cattle also bobbed
in the stream.
On either bank of Central
Europe's artery, famed tribu-
tarieS like the Inn, the Isar, the
Ems and the Traun have spilled
their banks, crashed through
dams and caused incalculable
damage.
The Danube and the Inn have
reached the expected high point
of their rise in Germany. but
there Is danger that new rain and
melting SHOWS may cause them
to rise again.
PaSSau Inundated.
While large areas of the
medieval German city of Passau
we're under water, the crest of
the flood moved this morning
down the Danube to Linz. BY
midday, 1000 houses were
flooded, more than a quarter of |
them with water up to their
roofs. Some $4,000 persons Ia
tenth of the scity's population
were evacuated from their homes
by firemen and American soldiers.
The waters swept into the
main square of the industrial
city, flooding shops and houses.
two hotels - including one for
American soldiers and forcing
the city fire brigade to move its
headquarters. All boats were
modified for evacuation of
homeless to schools where the
city provided hot meals. Car
penterS built emergency RATS to
help out.
Parts of the city were without
electricity as power was cut of
to avoid fire. The Linz radio
station was OF the air and tele-
phone communications were
partly paralyzed.
U. S. Units ON Hand.
In the German flood area, 80
United States Army landing
boats, together with 81 Air Force
and Army helicopters, rescued
303 persons. One helicopter
hoisted a pregnant mother from
stranded ambulance and
brought her to a hospital in
time.
Northwest of Passau, the Isar
River smashed a series Of dams
near LandShut and flooded
yard high over miles Of farm
land. At new Danube power
station at Jochenstein. where
much damage was caused yester-
day, a 300-yard bridge carrying
power lines and built for con-
struction workers. was swept
away. Throughout the flood
area, hundreds of roads we're
under water. Rail communlca-
tions were halted.
Red Army soldiers, East Ger
man Peoples Police and civilian
emergency squads were called
into action in southern districts
Of the Soviet Zone of Germany.
The East German news service
Adm said heavy rain made
rivers rise further overnight in
the districts of City,
TeiY1zip Gera Halle and DreS-