The prime minister personally checked the dams, Árvízinfo said.
Viktor Orbán personally inspected the dams and also took part in flood protection. On Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister held flood information on his own YouTube page, which is essentially an innovation, since the Hungarian Prime Minister personally reported on the flood situation.
The Danube tidal wave continues at Dévény, and in Budapest it is expected that the river may peak on Saturday afternoon and evening, 40-50 centimeters lower than the water level of 2013, at 846 centimeters; the lower quays in Budapest can be reopened sometime in the middle of next week, the Prime Minister said at a press conference in Budapest on Wednesday morning.
Viktor Orbán said that those involved in the defense are extremely confident and organized in their work.
According to Viktor Orbán's presentation, the Lajta will peak at Mosonmagyaróvár on Thursday, approaching the highest water level ever measured. He said that flood protection is currently being carried out on the Danube, Lajta, Rába and Marcal along a length of 544 kilometers.
He said that the water managers, soldiers, police, disaster management personnel, and even the volunteers involved in the defense are extremely calm, calm, confident and organized in their work.
He also announced that there are two types of defense systems in Hungary. There are sections for which the state is responsible and there are sections for which the municipality is responsible. In the state-protected areas, the preparedness level reached 100 percent. The situation is the same with most of the local governments, but there are some settlements where they are not yet 100 percent ready, but everywhere the preparedness is at 50 percent, he explained. He added: one of the most important points of the morning meeting of the flood protection operative was how to ensure the most optimal form of coordination between municipal and state protection.
This will also work, he declared, adding that Mayor Gergely Karácsony was also present at the meeting.
A total of 4,392 people from the water affairs, the national defense, the disaster management, the police, and convicted prisoners are involved in flood protection; Currently, Pilismarót, certain sections of highway 11, Margitsziget and Batthyány tér metro line 2 are the most difficult locations, Viktor Orbán said.
The Prime Minister indicated that protection, embankment raising, foiling, and rabbit dam construction are taking place at 12 priority state locations at the Mosonmagyaróvár section of the Danube and the Lajta. The number of sandbags used in this area is 39,335.
Work is taking place at 31 priority locations on the municipal defense lines, where 1,421,500 sandbags have been filled so far, most of which have been used.
About 500 people work at Pilismarót, 35,000 sandbags should be installed, the completion of the rabbit dam is now less than 70 percent, "so we have to work there" today and tomorrow, he said.
Certain sections of highway 11 cannot be protected, so the operational team decided to open detours instead of the closed sections.
Viktor Orbán touched on the following: the Margitsziget and Batthyány tér metro 2 are difficult locations, where they cannot prevent water from seeping in, but the water experts have undertaken to direct the infiltrating water towards the water-absorbing grates, so perhaps even the subway traffic no need to stop.
Viktor Orbán called it a serious and important success that after 2013 the government carried out flood protection developments and investments worth HUF 435 billion. As a result, there is now no need for additional protection in several places, because the built defenses work well and retain water.
The prime minister recalled: a development program worth 150 billion was implemented along the Danube, thanks to which there is no need for volunteers in places where "in 2013 the bar was very shaken", such as in Komárom, whether they can protect the respective coastal sections , for sandbags, building a rabbit dam or raising the dam level.
It is now clear that the construction of the Mosoni-Danube estuary structure was a good decision. The facility, which was handed over in 2022, enables Danube floods to be excluded from the Mosoni-Danube branch, thus protecting Győr.
The construction of the artefact at the mouth of the Barát stream was also important, Viktor Orbán added. Speaking about future tasks, he highlighted: after the current flood recedes, we "need to hurry" in Esztergom, where we are currently "building the higher dam" and "strengthening the protection works". In addition, within the framework of a HUF 40 billion program, the protection of the Szigetköz tributary is being developed.
MTI
