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Mr Orbán said it was necessary to increase the lengths of the sections under flood protection preparedness and also told members of the press that they expected a slow receding on the Danube, but in the coming week no precipitation was expected on the Austrian section of the river. According to his information, the peak of the flood may leave the territory of Hungary in the middle of next week, while in Budapest the water level is expected to peak on Saturday night.
The Leitha will peak on Thursday morning at Mosonmagyaróvár, as expected, at the highest water level ever recorded in history, while the flood on the Danube is expected to peak on Thursday in the region of Dunaremete, in the vicinity of Mosonmagyaróvár, he reported. He recalled that on Wednesday the flood had peaked at Dévény which was 54 to 55 kilometres from the location of the Thursday peak; this is the pace at which the maximum water level is heading in a southerly direction.
He said they are facing two threats at once. One is the challenge of defending ourselves against one of the highest water levels ever. This is working, “we have the capability” both at the Leitha and at the Danube with which “to keep the water under control,” he said. The Prime Minister described a slow receding as the second challenge, drawing attention to the fact that the bulk of flood-related damage events occurs in that phase, including due to seepage and water infiltration. The slow receding of the flood in Austria reminds us that we must not drop our guard even after the passage of the maximum water level because we could have problems afterwards, he said, summing up his view.
He said the opening of the emergency reservoir at the Leitha was a good decision which – as expected – has reduced the water level. He indicated that there will probably be no need for the opening of further temporary reservoirs.
He said it is good news that in Austria no precipitation is expected in the coming week, meaning – it is to be hoped – that the flood will not be fed by further rainfall and its receding will be final.
According to the Prime Minister’s information, the length of the sections subject to flood protection has increased by seventy kilometres. He said they have increased the length of the section coming under the effect of a second-degree flood alert by 33 kilometres, while the length of the section coming under the effect of a third-degree flood alert by three kilometres. At the same time, they have introduced a state of emergency preparedness on a section of 37 kilometres due to the Leitha.
He said they can continue to regard the earlier forecasts of water management experts related to the peaking of the water level as reliable; adjustments are within the range of a few centimetres. “We continue to believe that the peak will leave the country in a southerly direction in the middle of next week, and we continue to believe that in Budapest the water level will probably peak sometime on Saturday night,” he said, adding that depending on the decision of the Mayor of Budapest, traffic on the embankment could resume already in the middle of next week.
The Prime Minister also informed members of the press that compared with Wednesday, they have increased the number of professional personnel taking part in the defence effort by 1,436; as a result, today as many as 5,828 persons are working on the dams. On Wednesday, 4,012 volunteers took part in the flood protection work, and there are 15,353 registered volunteers, meaning that they are able to mobilise this many people as a reserve, over and above the reserve of many thousands of the professional services. In the water management sector they have mobilised another 200 persons, the number of soldiers participating in the defence effort has also increased by 200, another 130 police officers have joined the flood defence team, while they have increased the number of trainee police officers from 200 to 253, he said, informing members of the press. They have also increased the number of inmates deployed from the prison service; while yesterday 117 inmates were involved in the defence effort, today this number is 200. At the same time, they will mobilise further forces for filling sand bags within the confines of penal institutions. Additionally, 152 civil guards, 151 public works scheme participants and 171 volunteer firefighters are also taking part in the flood protection work, he stated.
He said the professional services are in good shape, the army is able to deploy 4,000 soldiers every 24 hours, while the rapid response police represents a reserve force in the magnitude of 10,000 which they have not yet been compelled to draw on. “We can already state that Hungary learnt the ropes of flood defence during previous floods, and not only the professionals, but also volunteers know precisely what they should do and how,” he said.
According to Mr Orbán’s information, since Wednesday, volunteers have filled and deposited 130,000 sand bags on the defence lines. The defence effort is making good progress – on the part of both the professionals and volunteers – in an organised, disciplined and calm manner, he said. Despite the severity of the situation, the country is safe, there is no shortage of either equipment or live force in the flood defence effort. In actual fact, thanks to volunteers, they were able to register a significant reserve force, he stated in summary. “Unless some unexpected event or accident occurs, we’ll be able to keep the water under control and in order in accordance with our plans. The flood will leave the country in the middle of next week and after that we’ll only have to concentrate on the post-flood threats, meaning that instead of splitting our attention, we will only have to focus on a single task,” said the Prime Minister, adding that the situation continues to remain severe and difficult. He said at the same time that the standard of the defence effort gives rise to optimism and he is positively optimistic regarding the testing of the country’s flood protection capabilities.
Mr Orbán thanked soldiers, police officers and the many thousands of volunteers for the enormous amount of work they completed the day before.
Mr Orbán said the protection of Budapest has been taken care of, they reached 100 per cent preparedness in the evening hours of Wednesday, having built the metropolitan defence lines to a height of 900 centimetres. This is above the highest water level ever recorded in history, and they will be able to put up a successful defence effort even in the most sensitive areas such as Margaret Island and the area around the Batthyány tér subway, the Prime Minister indicated.
He also told members of the press that the most difficult locations were in the Danube Bend area: at Dunabogdány the level of defence preparedness reached 100 per cent on Wednesday night, in Tahitótfalu as well, while at Leányfalu it currently stands at 97 per cent; the level of defence has improved significantly in one day. He said as expected, on Friday some sections of main road 2 in the direction of Vác will have to be closed. On Wednesday Kismaros was in a critical situation, but this has now passed, with the deployment of members of the army, they have reached 100 per cent in the level of defence, Mr Orbán reported.
He said they have launched a toll-free flood telephone number by phoning which members of the public can provide information or volunteer for flood-related work. He observed that on Wednesday they had witnessed a splendid and successful defence effort in Nagymaros; in this settlement, there is a permanent register of civilian volunteers who are able to perform flood protection tasks on a very long section on their own.
In answer to a question regarding assistance from the EU, Mr Orbán said Hungary has activated the procedure relating to situations of this nature which means that Brussels started examining what kind of assistance they could provide. “With all due respect, if we waited for Brussels helping us out of this predicament, we would be standing in water up to our necks,” said the Prime Minister. “Let’s do our job, let’s finance the costs of the defence effort, and then at some point in the future, once these complex Brussels procedures are finally brought to a conclusion, and provided that they won’t punish us by not giving us the assistance that we’re entitled to – because in Brussels these are all sentences with question marks attached – grants may also come from Brussels,” he said. He added that now they are looking at the positive side of things and respectfully thank Brussels for at least “having thought of us.”
In answer to a question regarding the costs of the flood defence effort, Mr Orbán said they are not reckoning with extra expenditures because every year funds are allocated in the budget for covering expenditures related to extraordinary events. Therefore, there is no financial limit to the flood defence effort because the necessary funds are available for immediate disbursement, he said, adding that in several places private businesses are also taking part in the defence effort, their services are usually employed by local governments, “we pay them for their services in the usual manner.”
Regarding compensation for damage caused by the water, Mr Orbán said water had to be released into the emergency reservoir by the Leitha which is – as a rule of thumb – a privately-owned area under agricultural cultivation. There, losses may be sustained partly due to damage to equipment and irrigation facilities, and partly due to the non-harvested produce, he explained, indicating that they will determine the amount of the damages at the end of the flood. He observed that produce had already been harvested in the affected area. He took the view that they will not be required to pay significant amounts of compensation for losses sustained due to the flood protection effort.
Mr Orbán said the wages of water management personnel are extremely low, compared with the work they perform, and added that their wages would have to be raised in 2025-2026 over a period of 1 to 3 years.
In answer to another question, he said after the Great Danube Flood in the middle of the 19th century, all flood defence facilities were built South of Budapest, while after the 2013 Danube flood, projects worth HUF 150 billion were implemented. The Prime Minister said every flood is “a stress test.” There are missing sections, he mentioned Kismaros as an example where the installation of a mobile dam system will probably be necessary. He added that the fact that there are no permanent flood protection facilities on some sections does not mean that those sections cannot be protected as they are protecting them also now with temporary measures. However, it gives us more peace of mind if we have permanent flood protection facilities upward from Budapest all the way to Hungary’s western border, he said.
He also mentioned that this morning in Budapest, preparedness had reached 100 per cent; there are good experts in the capital and in cooperation with flood protection and water management experts, they will be able to solve the problem. In answer to the question of where he will visit during the day, Mr Orbán said “I’ll go where the water goes.”
