page_title: 2013 European floods
section_title: Elbe river
hierarchical_section_title: 2013 European floods / Elbe basin / Elbe river
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Hochwasser in Magdeburg-Buckau am 11.6.2013; Straße "An der Elbe"
context_page_description: Extreme flooding in Central Europe began after several days of heavy rain in late May and early June 2013. Flooding and damages primarily affected south and east German states, western regions of the Czech Republic, and Austria. In addition, Switzerland, Slovakia, Belarus, Poland, Hungary and Serbia were affected to a lesser extent. The flood crest progressed down the Elbe and Danube drainage basins and tributaries, leading to high water and flooding along their banks.
context_section_description: In the state of Saxony, the old town of Grimma, on the Mulde tributary was under metres of water. Authorities were concerned about the Elbe river; in Dresden one of the bridges across the river was closed to traffic. In the city of Magdeburg, authorities declared a state of emergency and said they expected the Elbe river to rise higher than in 2002. In Magdeburg with water levels of five metres (16 ft) above normal about 23,000 residents had to leave their homes on 9 June.
  In the area surrounding the city of Leipzig, some 6,000 people had to be evacuated on 4 June. In Zwickau, Saxony the Volkswagen factory had to stop its car production, a spokesman said 3 June early shift had been asked to stay at home, with damage done to transport infrastructure raising fears that suppliers would not be able to deliver their products in time. The factory was able to resume production by 4 June. German armed forces were able to protect chemical production facilities in the Middle German Chemical Triangle from the floods.
caption: Flooding in Magdeburg city centre on the river Elbe
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