Orbán: Hungary Prepares to Ease COVID Restrictions in 5 Days
Hungary can breathe easier after five more “difficult days”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a press conference on flood protection in Budapest on Saturday.
“On the ninth day of defence, we’ve passed the halfway point,” he said, adding that there were five more days to go in a state of heightened readiness.
On Friday, flood defences were carried out along 755km, one kilometer more than the previous day.
He added that water levels remained below those of the 2013 flood, and protection measures were being implemented at a “calm and steady pace”.
Orbán noted that today the River Danube would peak in Budapest, and attention would thenceforth focus on settlements downstream from Budapest.
He warned that flood-protection leaders must not allow work to slacken, because most bank-bursts, accidents and flooding generally took place as the waters receded.
It would take just a “lackadaisical” day or two to ruin the successful work thus far, he added.
On Friday, the protective “backbone” slipped at Pilismarót, and divers were successfully deployed to strengthen the defences in a 16-hour operation.
At Vác, sewage manholes burst due to the high water pressure, “but we managed to contain this”, he said.
The focus in the following period will be settlements downstream from Budapest, he said, mentioning Ercsi, Kisapostag, Dunaföldvár, and Paks, adding that protection measures were 100 percent ready.
Hungary continues to monitor the situation closely and take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of its citizens. Stay updated on the latest developments on flooding in Hungary.
