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We must hold on, a day and a half or two, and the country will be able to finally breathe a sigh of relief, said the Prime Minister. He said meteorologists are still not forecasting precipitation, and therefore we cannot expect the flood to be boosted by further rainfall.
According to his information, the Danube will peak at Baja at noon; there, they have instated a third-degree flood alert, while at Mohács a second-degree flood alert.
He also said on the upper section of the river, receding is faster than expected. Now, we are coming out of the woods and pressure is abating, he said.
By his account, the level of the Danube at Mosonmagyaróvár has decreased by 80 centimetres, at Esztergom by 136, at Vác by 92, in the capital by 74, while at Dunaújváros by 17 centimetres, and receding has also started at Paks. The Rába at Győr has receded by 130 centimetres.
He added that while on Saturday, the defence effort extended to sections of a total length of 755 kilometres, on Sunday this dropped to 706 kilometres, and a third-degree flood alert was only in effect on sections of a total length of 223 kilometres.
On Saturday, 5,025 persons took part in the flood defence work, while on Sunday just 4,458, the number of volunteers assisting them fell to 195. The number of built-in sand bags has not increased any further either, we stopped at 1,903,100, he stated.
Regarding the more difficult locations, the Prime Minister mentioned the following: there is no change in Pilismarót and Vác, Dunabogdány, Tahitótfalu, Leányfalu and Kismaros “are fine” as is Margaret Island in Budapest, and traffic at the Batthyány tér metro station can resume as well.
He added that also in Kisapostag – a site he inspected at the weekend – receding has started, “there won’t be any problems there either,” Dunaföldvár, Madocsa and Paks are fine; in Báta a temporary dam has been built in order to protect buildings.
He said in Baja there is a 2,750 metre-long defence line, many volunteers are taking part in the defence effort. At Dunaújváros, on Szalki Island, a waste oil spill is making the defence effort more difficult, while in Csepel they discovered an illegal dump site during the defence effort. This is a fenced-off area, no waste will enter the Danube. As soon as the flood recedes, the dump site will have to be eliminated, he said, adding that this is a private property and the person subject to the proceedings is currently serving a prison sentence.
In answer to a question, the Prime Minister said the folk wisdom that it is the result that counts is especially true of the flood. They have managed to keep the water in the riverbed, there was only one single section where this was not possible; there, the water had to be released, but rather than the river bursting its banks, experts released water at the Leitha.
Historical data is important, this time the Danube peaked at a level which did not exceed the highest water level ever recorded in history. On the Leitha, this time the water level was higher than ever before, but by opening one of the temporary reservoirs developed for the purpose, they managed to protect even this difficult section, he recalled.
If the water remains within the riverbed, then there is no problem, then the defence effort is successful, he concluded in summary.
He observed that that the complex situation that some sections fall within state flood defence, while others within municipal flood defence and that at times they have to help each other out has not caused any problems.
It has been revealed that in trouble, flexibly interpreting the laws and helping one another out, Hungarians are able to protect their settlements and to avert trouble. Based on the information available today, the Prime Minister can only speak about the cooperation of those involved in the defence effort in words of the highest praise, he stated.
Mr Orbán also reminded that there was a script for clearance after the flood; however, there is no task that they have not yet performed in the past.
He said after the passage of the flood, there will be tasks related to public hygiene, about which more information will be provided from Tuesday onward by Chief Medical Officer Cecília Müller. At the Monday meeting of the operational group, attendees were informed that the related tasks had been duly identified and assigned, he observed.
He also recalled that the total cost of the flood defence effort at the time of the 2013 flood on the Danube had amounted to HUF 19.6 billion, including a budget of HUF 9.8 billion for the water management sector – HUF 16 billion at current value; however, now he is expecting an amount of around HUF 5 billion.
In answer to a question relating to possible errors or mistakes, he stressed that it was the result that counted as regarded the work of the state agencies involved. “Hungary 1 – Danube flood 0,” he said.
In his view, during the defence effort, he met with well-prepared experts. No one took this work lightly; not the defence forces, not the police, not disaster protection, not the water authority.
After the passage of the flood, they will evaluate the relevant experiences and will determine the sections which should be protected with permanent flood protection facilities, Mr Orbán said, drawing attention to the fact that we should not announce the final score prematurely. The remaining two days require us to remain disciplined.
In answer to a question, he pointed out that they had already collected the “migration fine” handed down by Brussels from businesses operating in Hungary; the funds necessary for the fine will not be raised by the Hungarian people.
Regarding the illegal dump site in Csepel, he said he received a reassuring answer from the authorities. However, he raised the question of why there should be illegal dump sites at all.
He said at present the user or owner of the property has to take care of the removal of the waste. “I don’t think this is a good rule,” he stated, adding that it would be reasonable for the state to remove the illegal waste and to collect the costs.
Regarding a possible debate with President of the Tisza Party Péter Magyar, the Prime Minister highlighted that he answered every question when he had something to say, while Parliament was a permanent venue for debates. There is a time and place for debates outside Parliament as well, the time for that will come, but this is not the time, Mr Orbán said.
