In the Czech Republic the capital Prague is bracing for a major flood,
just days after storms in the south of the country killed six people.
``The forecast is bad,'' said Josef Novotny of the Prague crisis committee,
warning that the Vltava river could burst its banks overnight.

Floods affected some parts of Prague on Friday, but Mr Novotny said twice
as much water was now bearing down on the city.

Several southern towns are already cut off by water, and some have been evacuated.

``Trains are not running, because bridges have fallen, and buses are not running,
because roads are damaged,'' the mayor of the southern town of Prachatice,
Jan Bauer, told Czech radio.

Officials called on residents of the UNESCO-protected town of Cesky Krumlov --
the second most popular tourist destination in the country -- to leave.

Radio BBC Archive