Flooding in Prague

Hooboy, the river is rising and everybody is recalling the flood of ’02, which was a megamess.  Reports started to filter in around  noon, there were a couple of people posted pictures of high water on my facebook page, then we went out to lunch at the Chinese because Sam just got back from nature school this morning.

On the way  to the restaurant, it was pouring down, I was regretting the decision to leave the house, but  it was only rain,  and when  I am surrounded by rain I generally think “fucking rain,” I don’t automatically think “Oh, Dear, it is likely to flood and that will cause us major problems which we should start thinking about.”  Even though it’s been raining  for a week now, and we should have realized something  like this  was coming.

It  wasn’t even raining on the way home, though, just the secondary rain of water falling from the leaves, it’s been like that, off and on.  We got  home and Sam went to play at a friend’s house and Helena and Isabel walked up to Libensky Most for a firsthand view and to take a few pics.

Then, they announced on the news that a few Metro stations would be closed, specifically ours, and then several people posted maps of the Metro closures on facebook and it’s basically the whole  system, at least all of it that’s any good to me.

Then they announced that schools might be closed.  Then they announced that they wouldn’t.  Then they announced that they  would and the kids went to bed happy.  They’ve made a couple of changes in plan since then, but we’re letting them stay home.

We haven’t evacuated yet, but we’ve called a friend  and made arrangements so he won’t be totally shocked when  a family of four shows up in his flat  in the middle of the night.  I don’t think it’s going to come to that, though.

I look down from my balcony and the streets are slick, sure, just like after a strong  rain, but there’s no flood yet. (As the crow flies, we’re maybe about a half kilometer from the river, about a quarter mile.)  So far, it’s  not as bad as 2002 and I don’t think it will  be.

But we won’t be able to say that for sure until it’s over.