!!!Flooding in Czech Republic

by Stanislav Sedov,
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

Published on June 05, 2013, photographed on June 04, 2013

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

Flooding in Czech Republic reached its peak on June 4th and 5th.
Yesterday, June 4th, all roads to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic,
were still blocked. Similar to 2002 disaster in the Czech Republic,
cresting river could flood the roads crushing, destroying, and leaving
nothing but empty street blocks behind. Prague residents rescued
everything they could from the “Big Water”. National Library building
was secured with hundreds of sacks filled with sand. Using this type of
a flood barrier to save valuables has already proven efficient. Czech
Prime Minister Petr Necas said that they might have to open floodgates
that were holding the water at the entrance to the capital. This would
bring the water level up on the streets, but otherwise floodgates might
burst, making the situation in Prague absolutely uncontrollable.

[{Image src='01_Flooding in Czech Republic, 2013.jpg' caption='Flooding in Czech Republic, 2013' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='574'}]

Fortunately Prague flood barriers withstood the flood peak. Water level
in the capital of Czech Republic is gradually decreasing. However, a
number of tourist attractions in Prague are closed for local public and
international visitors. Downtown subway is also closed.

Weather forecast expects continuing rise of water in local rivers up
North.

[{Image src='02_Flooding in Czech Republic, 2013.jpg' caption='Flooding in Czech Republic, 2013' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

Located North of Prague, at the confluence of Elbe and Bilin rivers,
city of Usti nad Labem is experiencing a major flood at the moment. Our
colleague Stas Sedov is working in Usti nad Labem right now. He was able
to capture the “Big Water” from a bird’s eye view. Main railway station
and Downtown of Usti nad Labem are flooded. Today the water level
reached 10,5 meters marker. It's lower than in 2002 but still it is very
powerful flooding.

And now Stanislav Sedov will tell us how difficult it was to create this
virtual tour.

Sometimes all odds are against you: your helicopter breaks down on the
last shooting day, it rains nonstop over Europe, you are extremely
exhausted from sleepless nights, and your colleague suddenly leaves for
Italy. It seems like circumstances tell you, "Don't even start! Don't do
it! Chances for success are close to none!"

Actually this trip was not supposed to happen, because it wasn't in our
shooting schedule. The idea came up after reading travel notes by
popular blogger Rustem Adagamov about flooding in Prague
(http://drugoi.livejournal.com/3855021.html). I wrote him asking if he
would be willing to meet and help us take pictures of a flood. Rustem
responded very quickly.

[{Image src='03_Flooding in Czech Republic, 2013.jpg' caption='Flooding in Czech Republic, 2013' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

On the way from Budapest my mind was filled with different images of a
flooded city. The picture of 2002 flood that I saw in one of blogs was
still fresh in my memory, and so I was very disappointed with what I saw
in Prague upon my arrival. Well, maybe it was for the best. Czechs did
well! They learned from their mistakes in 2002 and were fully prepared!
Vltava River located in the center of the city did not overflow. There
was nothing to photograph in the capital, but there were rumors that big
floods hit small towns in the northern parts of the country.

Rustem suggested that I contact a local freelance photographer Vladimir
Pomortsev. This contact turned to be a pivot point of our photo
expedition! Vladimir had perfect navigation skills, he knew what roads
were blocked, how to go around flooded areas, and — most importantly —
he kept tabs on where all the action was going on. On the morning of
July 5th the river broke through flood barriers in the city of Ústí nad
Labem. The streets were going under the water...

[{Image src='04_Flooding in Czech Republic, 2013.jpg' caption='Flooding in Czech Republic, 2013' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

When we arrived at the main observation deck near Vetruše Hotel, we were
amazed by the view. To tell you the truth, I was in shock for half an
hour. How am I supposed to shoot it? How do I get to the city blocked by
police forces? What would they do to us after our first flight? But
little by little Vladimir and I gathered our thoughts, found several
locations for shooting, and devised a plan to get there.

I am not going to tell you how we sneaked in the city and took pictures.
I only want to say that local people and the police were very friendly.

In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to Pavel Os'kin, a
blogger and a photographer, and to his wonderful father Alexander for
helping me with shooting and equipment repairs.

\\ \\
[6 Panoramas of Flooding in Czech Republic|Geography/Europe/Czech_Republic/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Flooding_in_Czech_Republic]











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