Warsaw braces for more flooding as zoo prepares for animal evacuation

Warsaw is bracing itself for a further rise in the level of the Vistula, with emergency workers reinforcing dikes where a bridge is being built over the river. Riverside beer gardens below the old town have already been closed, after they became awash when the river rose above its banks. The city zoo is preparing an operation to evacuate its animals. "The zoo is located in an area where the embankment of the Vistula is lowest, so we have to be prepared for a catastrophe," zoo official Wlodzimierz Konrad said. However, national fire service spokesman Witold Maziarz disputed the need for such drastic action. "The weather is very good, so we don't expect any further dam breaks downstream," he said. (Reuters) A.Z.