Europe floods: Tusk in southern Poland for crisis meeting

The water level on the Elbe River continued to rise slowly in the eastern German state of Saxony.

In the city of Dresden, the water level reached 5.86 meters at 7 a.m. local time (0500 UTC) on Tuesday, according to state weather authorities.

If it reaches 6 meters, the state will declare its second-highest flood alarm level.

On Monday, the Elbe rose less than forecast, with hydrologists expecting the highest flood alarm level to be reached either in Dresden or the town of Schöna near the Czech border.

People in Dresden have been rushing to remove parts of a partially collapsed bridge ahead of the expected flooding.

People in the town of Nysa in southwestern Poland were rushing to fortify a weakened dyke with sandbags to combat severe flooding.

The town lies in the Opole region, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of the major city of Wroclaw.

Local residents in Nysa joined forces with the army and the fire brigade to assist in the efforts.

"There were about 2,000 people on the dyke: women, men, children and senior citizens," Mayor Kordian Kolbiarz told the Rmf.fm radio station, adding that people had formed a human chain to transport the sandbags.

In Wroclaw, a crisis management meeting convened with Prime Minister Donald Tusk to address the escalating situation.

Tusk said there were contradictory forecasts as to whether floodwaters would reach Wroclaw, adding that the predictions needed to be analyzed in detail.

The Polish government has declared a state of natural disaster in affected areas to streamline the enforcement of emergency measures. At least four people have died in flooding in Poland so far.

sdi/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa)