Polish tourists assist civil authorities in endangered Czech capital

Staff and diplomats at the Polish Embassy in Prague were evacuated yesterday , together with 50,000 local residents, as the worse flood in a hundred year s hit the Czech capital. As the Veltava River burst its banks flood water re ached the historical quarter of Prague Mala Strana and the famous 500 year o ld Charles Bridge was closed as it was in danger of being swept away by the powerful currents. In some parts of the city, power, telephone lines and gas supplies were cut. Eight people have already drowned. The alarm sirens sound ed all day giving tourist and residents alike the feeling that the city was under siege. Some Polish citizens from the city of Wroceaw spending their ho liday in Prague actively helped the Czech authorities. "We were flooded in W roceaw five years ago, so we know what it means. To us, the Czech people are like our brothers," said one of them. Municipal authorities in Prague appeal ed to the public to stay at home and not to travel by car as many roads are closed or flooded. The Polish Foreign Ministry officially advised tourists n ot to travel to the Czech Republic. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A5; Gazeta Wybo rcza, pp. 1, 3, 5) A.D.