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The Prime Minister said it was not yet possible to reduce the length of the section subject to a third-degree flood alert, but by Monday they expect a number of areas to drop off the third-degree flood alert.
He said it is good news that there is a good chance that – in contrast to earlier calculations – the highest water level will leave Hungary in a southerly direction not on Thursday, but already on Tuesday. He said it is also good news that they are still not expecting precipitation on a scale that could meaningfully affect the receding of the flood.
The Prime Minister said on Saturday afternoon they had opened the flood gate at the Moson Danube delta, as a result, the Moson Danube has also started receding, and “with this, we can regard our affairs in Győr as concluded.”
Outlining the latest data, he said since peaking the Leitha at Mosonmagyaróvár has receded by 51 centimetres. The Danube has receded at Nagybajcs by 188 centimetres, at Győr by 25 centimetres, at Komárom by 97 centimetres, at Esztergom by 52 centimetres, at Vác by 24 centimetres, while at Budapest by 21 centimetres, he listed.
“I can’t say that I was overwhelmingly successful with my request yesterday when I specifically asked people in Budapest to only go out to see the flood defence work if absolutely necessary,” Mr Orbán said. In continuation, he added that the situation is somewhat better now, but he asked everyone to continue to exercise caution because should some accident nonetheless occur, should any extra flood protection work be required – for instance, an embankment starts seeping or slips – they should not be in the way. “So, I’d like to ask everyone to continue to give the defence effort priority,” the Prime Minister said, appealing to members of the public.
The number of those taking part in the flood defence effort is now continuously decreasing. On Saturday, we had 5,344 professionals on the job, while today we will only need 5,025 persons, Mr Orbán reported.
The Prime Minister also informed members of the press that on Saturday they had 1,286 volunteers in service, but they expect to need just 324 volunteers on Sunday. He added that he was talking about civilian volunteers because volunteer firefighters and rescue organisations were usually included in the professional personnel.
Listing the more difficult flood defence sites, he said there is no change at Pilismarót, Dunabogdány, Tahitótfalu, Leányfalu “are in order.” He added that there is no change at Vác either, Kismaros is continuing the defence effort, there is no change, while in Kisoroszi “it’s business as usual.” He stressed that Budapest, too, was fine, and the Batthyány tér metro would be given back to residents of the capital shortly.
Regarding priority defence sites South of Budapest, he mentioned that at Báta the level of preparedness had been raised from ninety per cent on Saturday to a hundred per cent, at Baja “we’re fine,” while at Dunaszekcső, too, the construction of the flood defence facility had reached one hundred per cent.
He announced that as a new site they would have to turn their attention to Madocsa where a temporary dam would have to be built. He added that – as far as he could see – around six hundred sand bags will be deployed and as part of the municipal defence effort, movable property will have to be moved out of properties built on floodplains. He concluded his list by stating that Paks is in order as well.
In summary he said that the defence effort is proving to be successful as expected. He stressed that they were required to resolve a task which they had already previously resolved.
Mr Orbán further informed members of the press that on Saturday he had inspected the Kvassay Flood Gate which supplied the water needs of some 400,000 people. The Prime Minister said there they are in the middle of a construction project, but the technical facility which is currently being built will serve to guarantee the water supply of the 400,000 people living in the region also in times of lower water levels. This does not affect the flood defence effort, but as soon as the water recedes, they will complete the project, he added.
On the upper sections of the river, the tasks in hand include patrolling, the operation of monitoring services, the dismantling of temporary flood defence facilities and hygienic disinfecting wherever necessary, “and then we’re done with it all,” said the Prime Minister.
When asked about the pay rise of water management personnel, the Prime Minister laid down: “I don’t want to forestall this decision, I’m having talks with the Director General.”
Regarding closer regional flood cooperation, Mr Orbán said “while the V4 worked, this was in order.” He took the view that it is well worth establishing such cooperation, adding that we have the knowledge and expertise that we are happy to share and may prove to be useful for others.
He mentioned that Hungary “has a historically well-built flood protection system and experts who can hold their own in any international comparison.” “We are happy to cooperate, but trouble is the sort of thing where you can primarily count on yourself; we must stand our ground in trouble,” he said.
In answer to a question, Mr Orbán said “we will work according to the normal order of politics after the flood,” on Wednesday, he will deliver a speech at a conference on European competitiveness, on Thursday evening in North Macedonia members of the two governments will attend a joint meeting, while he will go to the European Parliament “sometime in the first or second week of October.”
When asked about a debate with President of the Tisza Party Péter Magyar, he said “there will be elections in Hungary at some point and then we can have debates about all sorts of things, but right now, there is a normal, calm phase in politics in Hungary, and we are happy to talk to everyone about everything where and when it’s appropriate.”
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