The Prague floods of 2002

Abstract

On August 13,2002, the river Vltava burst its banks in Prague. The subsequent flooding which struck the capital of the Czech Republic had not been seen in the previous 500 years. The flood affected the whole Vltava basin, involving mainly southern, central and northern Bohemia and cities such as Ceske BudEjovice, Klatovy, Tabor, Cesky Krumlov, Strakonice, Plzeii, Roztoky u Prahy, Terezh, Usti nad Labem as well as some cities in Germany. In 1997, the Morava river burst its banks and small villages in southern Moravia were flooded, but the scale was relatively minor. The floods of 2002 and particularly the effects on Prague were on the scale of the 1966 flood in Florence (Fig. I). Many government ministries and institutions such as libraries and museums were affected, involving thousands of metres of documents, plans, and volumes (Fig. z ) . ~ In response to this disaster, the National Library and National Archives set up a consultation centre for all institutions affected by the flood and disseminated guidelines for work on flood-damaged material via the internet, pamphlets, and word of mouth. From the outset, close co-operation was established between the national institutions and the Municipal Library of Prague, and the freezing facilities of the Mochovske mrazirny (a frozen food company) in nearby Kladno were enlisted. The exact number of items affected cannot be ascertained, but flood-damaged books and documents from more than 50 institutions along the Vltava basin were transported into the huge freezer hall where some 140,000 volumes were frozen (Fig. 3). During the flood, the Municipal Library lost its conservation workshop in HoleBovice where its rare collection of historical printed books had also been stored. After salvage, this collection was frozen at the Mochovske mrazirny facility in Kladno. From September 2002 through to the end of August 2003, a Q.2 Flooded books at the Municipal Library, 14 August zooz.