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Mr Orbán asked all Members of Parliament, volunteers and mayors to organise monitoring services and to maintain continuous patrols. This is the most difficult period, not to drop one’s guard when one believes that the worst is already over. Accordingly, the flood protection operational group remains in session on an ongoing basis, he added.
The Prime Minister mentioned as a new element of the flood defence effort that while up to now they had to deal with the upper section of the Danube, from now on it is also necessary to check the flood protection facilities located South of Budapest. Extra work must be done in three places: Báta, Dunaszekcső and Baja, he said.
Referring to information provided by experts, he said the flood level will not exceed the highest recorded to date South of Budapest either. In Dunaszekcső, the level of preparedness stands at 100 per cent; however, in Baja, on the Petőfi Island, there is yet work to be done. The raising of the 2,750-metre-long flood protection facility there is 85 per cent complete.
The Prime Minister said it is good news that the weather forecasts have proved to be right and there has been no meaningful quantity of precipitation anywhere in the past two days. He indicated that they continue to expect precipitation-free, late summer-like weather in the coming days which helps the defence effort. He also said the forecasts for the peaking of the flood, too, have proved to be accurate, and there is only a discrepancy of a centimetre or two regarding the maximum water levels. “Forecasts are key to everything because if there are no accurate forecasts, you can’t plan accurately, and if you can’t plan accurately, you can’t precisely assess the extent of the required defence effort. However, thank God, so far […] all forecasts have been right,” he said.
Mr Orbán said in the case of the Leitha, they are now past a long, ten-hour peak period, they put up a successful defence effort at the time of the peaking of the flood, and with the passage of time the situation will improve. In the case of the Danube – according to reports received on Friday morning – the flood will peak in the region of Komárom. What is true of the Leitha is also true of this section of the Danube: we can expect slow receding, he added.
He further informed members of the press that compared with a section of 614 kilometres on Thursday, the defence effort had been extended to a section of 754 kilometres; the first-degree flood alert has been extended by 68 kilometres, while a third-degree – the highest – flood alert has been instated on a further section of 114 kilometres.
He said on Thursday 6,149 persons of the professional services took part in the defence work which is 321 more than on the day before. At the same time, the number of volunteers decreased from over 4,000 to 2,753, the reason being that the usual flood-related physical labour – filling of sand bags – has been completed and the temporary dams have been installed, he indicated. He drew attention to the fact that volunteers who are now available can help most by taking part in monitoring services and patrolling because with the peaking of the water level, danger will not immediately pass. Problems most frequently emerge, including the bursting of dams during the period of receding.
He further said the flood protection telephone line opened on Thursday received more than 400 calls which means that the people continue to be ready to help.
Regarding the material background of the flood defence effort, Mr Orbán said on Thursday another 311,000 sand bags were filled, meaning that to date 1,862,500 sand bags have been used. He identified Pilismarót as a difficult flood defence location where on Thursday another 20,000 new sand bags were deposited, while the temporary dam is 99 per cent ready.
At main road 11, alternative transport routes have been made available for the event that the water on the main road should make the progress of traffic difficult or impossible. In Tahitótfalu, Leányfalu, Vác – where a flood protection barrier of the length of 1,500 metres had to be built – and in Kismaros, too, the level of flood defence preparedness stands at 100 per cent. According to this morning’s report, on Margaret Island “everything is fine,” he said.
The Prime Minister highlighted that on Thursday he had inspected the flood defence works in Kisoroszi and Pócsmegyer in person and had found everything in order. In Kisoroszi, a flood defence reserve had to be installed – this has been duly taken care of – meaning that there are 6,500 reserve sand bags. In Pócsmegyer, too, five thousand extra sand bags have been deposited; the necessary work related to the raising of the level of the dam was already near 100 per cent on Thursday afternoon, he added.
In answer to a journalist’s question, Mr Orbán stressed that in trouble Hungarians tended to combine forces more than usual; trouble brings people together. By his account, his experience in every settlement has been that there are many volunteers, at times even more than necessary, given the amount of work to be done, and the people have faith in their recently elected leaders; the defence effort is well-coordinated everywhere.
Flood protection is based on a dual flood defence system: there are sections protected by the state and there are sections under municipal protection. So far, the two have been coordinated flawlessly, he concluded, adding that his experience is that this time people are calmer than they were in 2013. “Now, we can say that nothing that we haven’t yet seen will happen, there is no threat that we haven’t averted before, at least once before,” he said. While the situation is severe, there is no need to rush things, the Prime Minister observed, adding that if everyone remains in their respective positions at the weekend, there will not be any trouble.
Mr Orbán stressed the importance of the role of members of the uniformed services, including the military, and also said he believes that in a social sense after the flood we will be stronger than we were before.
In answer to a question, he said according to forecasts, he will be able “to finally dump his wellies” sometime around Thursday noon, “we must hold on in the match” until Thursday, there is another six days of the highest level of flood defence.
In connection with questions relating to flood damage, he recalled that the Danube had not burst its banks onto protected areas. In places onto which water has been diverted as part of the defence effort, agricultural damage may have been sustained, but he does not expect this to be a major item. Another type of damage may have been sustained in buildings built on floodplains, but he is not an insurance broker, and this does not concern the central budget, he pointed out. “Compared with the severity of the situation, we will get off lightly,” he said.
Regarding traffic on the Chain Bridge, he said “I will leave the Budapest ants’ nest to the Mayor, he should make that decision.” His last personal decision related to the flood defence effort was the opening of the dam due to the high water level of the Leitha; he was required to make that decision in consultation with members of the operational group, Mr Orbán said, answering another question.
For the time being, the Prime Minister did not wish to make a judgement regarding whether the government has made every conceivable effort in the flood defence work. “We should re-table this question after the passage of the flood; now, the task in hand is to protect every settlement,” he suggested, adding that water management experts will decide the technical issue of where there is a need for permanent or temporary flood protection facilities. For instance, there is a professional debate about the Kismaros mobile dam; he himself supports the plan, he observed. At the same time, he expressed regret over the fact that the Esztergom section had not been completed on time. If we had that now, it would be easier to protect Esztergom, but we will conquer the flood nonetheless, Mr Orbán stressed.
