Floodwaters recede in the south but officials warn danger is far from over

The flood crest surging up the river Vistula reached over 100km and broke the embankment north of Sandomierz on Sunday, flooding Podtarnobrzeskie villages. The breach led to the immediate inundation of some 4,000 hectares of land and the evacuation of 300 people, bringing the disaster's total number of evacuees in temporary shelter to 13,000. Rescue efforts nationwide are now concentrating on shoring up dykes along the Vistula while flood alerts remain in force in 7 provinces. National fire brigade commander, Witold Maziarz, has warned that 'new breaches cannot be ruled out as the flood surges northward, because the sodden dykes may give out at any point.'(Gazeta Wyborcza p. 1, Reuters) M.M.