August 7, 2023 – We have entered the second day in the fight against floods in Croatia. There is a state of emergency on the Sava, Drava and Mura rivers.
As Index reports, Hrvatske vode introduced a state of emergency for flood protection in the protected area of the interstate Mura and Drava rivers yesterday, due to the water level of the Mura river at the Goričan water gauge, with a tendency to further increase.
Medjimurski.hr reported that Mura reached a new maximum of 543 cm at five o’clock this morning and was falling. At six o’clock the water level was at 541 cm.
The water level of the Drava near Pušćin fell this morning compared to yesterday, from 366 cm to 355 cm.
In Dubrovčak Lijevi, in the municipality of Ivanić Grad, Sava broke its record from 2010, but the town remained safe.
The water level stopped at 878 centimeters this morning, and the last two measurements have stagnated.
The Mura in Mursko Središće also broke its record from 2010 with a water level of 543 centimeters this morning, which is also the historical maximum. It also started to fall according to the measurement at 6 o’clock.
Hrvatske vode: We expect the Level of Sava to Fall from Rugvica to Dubrovčak
The water level of the Sava at the Rugvica water gauge reached 950 centimeters last night around 3 o’clock and has been slowly decreasing since then, said Tomislav Novosel from Hrvatske vode this morning, who expects that the water level in the area will not rise again during the day.
“In other words, we expect the Sava to decline from Rugvica to Dubrovčak,” Novosel said in Hrvatski Radio’s Jutarnja Kronika.
Despite the extraordinary flood defense measures introduced on Sunday at noon, he says that the current situation in Rugvica, a municipality about 20 kilometers southeast of Zagreb, is somewhat better than in 2010, when the river’s water level reached as high as 980 centimeters.
The Sava Level near Zagreb Falling
There are some reconstructed embankments, unfortunately not all are there, so in a dozen places, on both the right and left sides of the Sava, an overhang of 50 to 150 meters had to be built.
“We expect that the water level in that area will no longer increase during Monday, that is, we expect it to decrease from Rugvica to Dubrovčak”, said Novosel, adding that flood defense lines have been set up and that they only need to be controlled.
He estimated that there will “definitely” be some overflow which will need to be repaired urgently in the next 24 hours, and then he hopes that the area will hold up without the threat of flooding.
Novosel states that, apart from Rugvica, a state of emergency against floods has also been introduced for Velika Gorica, i.e. the area of Orle municipality.
The water level of the Sava near Zagreb has dropped by about one meter.
DHMZ forecast for today
Partly cloudy, on the Adriatic with longer sunny periods. Locally, rain and showers with thunder, more pronounced mainly in Dalmatia.
Local fog in Lika in the morning. The wind on land is weak to moderate north-easterly, in the east north-westerly, transient and stronger towards the evening. On the Adriatic, moderate to strong gale and north-westerly. In the south in the morning and in the middle of the day a passing southerly wind.
The highest daily temperature from 19 to 24, on the Adriatic between 24 and 28 °C.
HAK’S message for drivers due to the Overflowing of the Drava
Due to the overflowing of the Drava River, only passenger vehicles are allowed to cross the Dubrava Križovljanska highway. Freight traffic has been redirected to the Macelj and Trnovec highways, the Croatian Auto Club reported this morning.
