Listening comprehension exercise about the floods in Central Europe

Listen to the article and decide if the statements are TRUE or FALSE.

1)     So far about 14 people have died in the floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. T/F
2)     The Danube in Passau reached its highest level in 70 years. T/F
3)     In Prague this is the worst flood in the past ten years. T/F
4)     There have even been fires in the Czech Republic caused by the flood damage. T/F
5)     The Czech Republic is fighting the flood with sandbag barriers and metal walls. T/F
6)     Angela Merkel has sent out the army to help control the situation. T/F
7)     Three German cities have issued disaster warnings. T/F
8)     2002 water level records have been broken in Passau. T/F
9)     Railway stations, subway networks and ship traffic have been closed in the affected European countries. T/F
10)  Meteorologists are expecting less rainfall in the following days. T/F

Answers: 1) F, 2) F, 3) T, 4) F, 5) T, 6) F, 7) F, 8) T, 9) F, 10) T

Officials across central Europe issued disaster warnings and scrambled to reinforce flood defences today as rivers swelled by days of heavy rain threatened to burst their banks. At least five people have died and nine are missing due to floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic in recent days. The Danube in the southeast German city of Passau is expected to rise to its highest level in 70 years today and a spokesman for the city’s crisis centre said the situation has become ‘extremely dramatic’. In Prague, almost 2,700 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas as the country sees its worst flooding in a decade. Czech police said at least five people had died in the flooding. Firefighters evacuated homes in western regions and in villages outside the capital today and yesterday, rescuing 200 people. Czech officials said the waters of the Vltava river could reach critical levels in Prague and that special metal walls were being erected to prevent flooding. Interim Mayor Tomas Hudecek said they were shutting down eight stations of the capital’s subway network and urging people not to travel to the city. Flooding was also reported in Austria and water levels rose in Germany and Poland after heavy rain in central Europe over the past week swelled rivers. The subway network in central Prague was halted due to the weather. It is the first time it has been closed since massive floods submerged the city in 2002 and caused billions of dollars of damage in the Czech Republic. Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas declared a state of emergency for most of the nation on Sunday and pledged 300 million crowns ($15.11million) for relief efforts. Troops started putting anti-flood barriers in place in Prague and volunteers helped pile up sandbags in areas popular with tourists in the ancient centre. The landmark Charles Bridge was closed and workers evacuated parts of Prague zoo. Levels on the Vltava river that cuts through Prague’s centre continued to rise. In Germany, where at least four people have died or are missing, Chancellor Angela Merkel promised federal support for affected areas and said the army would be deployed if necessary. The water level had risen by at least five meters in Munich. Several cities including Chemnitz in the east of Germany, and Passau and Rosenheim in the south, issued disaster warnings. Passau, which is located at the confluence of three rivers, could see waters rise above record levels of 2002, said Mayor Juergen Dupper. German news agency dpa reported that large stretches of the Rhine, Main and Neckar rivers have been closed to ship traffic. Evacuations are also taking place in neighbouring Austria and Switzerland. Rivers also were spilling over their banks in some rural areas of south-western Poland, and people have been evacuated.  Meteorologists are predicting the rainfall will ease in the coming days.
source: dailymail.co.uk

to issue – kiadni, kibocsátani
disaster warning – katasztrófa figyelmeztetés
to scramble – küzdeni, tolongani
to reinforce – megerősíteni
flood defence – árvíz védelem
to swell – duzzadni
to threaten – veszélyeztetni, fenyegetni
to burst – szétszakítani, kitörni
to expect – számítani valamire
to rise – emelkedni
low-lying – alacsonyan fekvő
to erect – (fel)emelni
to prevent – (meg)akadályozni
to shut down – lezárni
to urge – sürgetni, ösztönözni
to halt – megállítani
to submerge – elmeríteni, elárasztani
damage – kár
to declare – kijelenteni
state of emergency – rendkívüli állapot
to pledge – fogadalmat tenni, ígérni
relief effort – segély
troop – csapat
barrier – gát, korlát, akadály
volunteer – önkéntes
to pile up – felhalmozni
affected –  érintett
to deploy – bevetni
confluence – egybetorkollás
stretch – szakasz
to spill over – átömleni, kiönteni
to predict – előrelátni, jósolni
to ease – enyhülni, csökkeni