Replies

....Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla deployed 4,000 soldiers throughout the country, and President Vaclav Havel cut short a Portugal vacation because of flooding that destroyed or rendered impassable more than a dozen bridges.

One famous span destroyed in the catastrophe was a 13-century bridge in Pisek, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Prague. The normally placid Otava River swamped the 110 meter-long structure, leaving only the heads of the statutes decorating the bridge above the water line.

Stores and offices lost power by mid-afternoon, forcing many to shut down, and the Prague Stock Exchange suspended trading. Hundreds of people rushed home before transportation links shut down.

At the Zoological Garden on the outskirts of Prague, about 400 animals were moved to higher ground. They included two rhinos who were moved with a crane and four gorillas who were sedated. A fifth gorilla was missing but presumed to be hiding within the zoo.

Zookeepers had to euthanize a 35-year-old Indian elephant called Kadir, after he was stranded in flooded part of the zoo and was in danger of drowning unless the waters receded.