Budapest's Rising River

The rising Danube River just a block from my flat.

The day before the Danube River overwhelmed the roads along its banks, I went for a run along it. The river was lapping onto the road, which was closed earlier to auto traffic.

With the waves and most of the city out for an evening stroll along the banks, it felt more like a lake than a river threatening to flood.

The next day, the water rose and flooded the road. Evacuations in Prague and a bursting dam in Magdeburg were all over the news. North of Budapest, in the countryside, the Danube spread into villages, damaged summer homes and forced residents to evacuate. In the city, the stone walls along the river and the new sand bag barriers kept the river from city.

The river was not due to peek until the weekend, so people, including myself, came to the river, watched the water rush past and snapped a few photos for the facebook.

Over the weekend, a few friends and I went for a small road trip an hour west of Budapest. There were no floods, but there was rain. When we returned, I was certain the river had risen, but the other road trippers were sure that it had not.

The flood reached has since reached its peak. I did not need stocks of canned food, hip waders or snorkels. Now the water level has not decreased much yet, but it isn't expected to go anywhere but downstream.