Budapest -
Thousands of Hungarians feverishly worked through the night reinforcing dykes along the banks of the swelling Danube River, as Budapest braced for what is expected to be a record flood surge.
Europe's worst river floods in over a decade have already wrecked devastation in parts of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic and in Hungary, the Danube had risen to record levels in the west of the country by Friday morning.
Budapest was expected to be worst hit on Monday, with forecasters predicting the river will rise to as high as 8.85
metres, about 25 centimetres higher than the last record set in 2006.
About 10 000 people, including soldiers, worked through the night and into Friday morning reinforcing dykes along some 700 kilometres of the Danube, local media reports said.
The floods have killed at least 12 people and have forced mass evacuations across central Europe. - Sapa-AFP