At their meeting on Monday, September 25th, the Prague councilors approved initiating a public contract tender for upgrading the mobile flood protection and other flood prevention measures aimed at protecting the city center from potential floods.
According to the Prague City Hall’s website, the planned public contract is intended to increase the existing mobile barriers on Masarykovo nábřeží, Smetanovo nábřeží, Alšovo nábřeží, and Dvořákovo with a safety reserve of 30 centimeters above the water level reached by the river during the 2002 floods.
As part of the contract, the original protective elements will be entirely replaced by new structures made of matte stainless steel. The agreement also includes delivering mobile barrier components, including necessary spare parts.
There are also plans to expand the mobile barriers to sections currently protected by sandbags. Newly constructed flood prevention sections will be connected to the existing landing areas for obstacles embedded in the communication between Masarykovo and Dvořákový nábřeží, with a protection height corresponding to a 30-centimeter reserve above the water level of the 2002 flood.
If the city councilors approve the intention to modernize mobile flood protection, the construction is expected between 2023 and 2024. The work should not exceed 12 months.
Flood Protection
The construction of flood prevention measures in Prague began in 1999 and was divided into eight stages. The first stage was to protect Staré Město and Josefov, followed by Malá Strana and Kampa, and then Karlín and Libeň. In the fourth stage, the focus was on Stromovka and Holešovice, followed by Výtoň, Podolí, and Smíchov. The sixth stage aimed to protect Zbraslav, Radotín, and Velká Chuchle. The last two steps focused on sections in Troja and Modřany.
In 2002, when devastating floods hit the capital city, only the first stage was completed. The floods caused damages of 27 billion CZK, but Staré Město was not directly affected.
After completing all eight stages, the total length of flood prevention measures is over 19 kilometers and consists of earthen embankments, solid concrete walls, and mobile barriers. The portable barriers cover a distance of approximately 6.7 kilometers. The height of the mobile fences ranges from 0.2 to 6.2 meters.
The cost of constructing flood prevention measures reached approximately 4 billion CZK.