Dear Guests of Budapest River Cruise
September 17 – September 24 adjusted to approx. Sep 26, re-adjusted again to approx Sep 24 Sep 25, 2024
National Flood Hotline (Emergency/ Donation / Monitor Gushing) 2024
Cruising in Budapest is currently, Sep 17 – 24, adjusted predictions for Sep 26 re-adjusted again to approx Sep 24 Sep 25, 2024, not possible due to the high water levels of the river Danube caused by the large volume of rains in the upper section of the river Danube originating in Germany in the Black Forest. The downpour swells the river in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Romania like a domino chain. The water levels gradually rise when the rain keeps falling and it normally takes 1 week for the flood to pass through the city of Budapest. The flood is expected to peak in Budapest over the weekend, Sep 21 & 22 (in the Danube Bend, in Esztergom on Sep 18 and 19), but cruises in Budapest are not operational from today, Sep 17, until the flood goes down.
Since 1838, when Budapest suffered a major blow due to an unprecedented large flood, the riverbanks, the stone embankments have been built with flood protection, high and fortified and are maintained to be able to block a very high water level to protect the city. Therefore, Budapest is well protected regarding residential areas when it comes to flooding, however, there is a Danube alert for water and riverside traffic and transportation, as the cruise ships, or the nearby trams etc. cannot navigate on flooded parts of the Danube, under the bridges or in close proximity to the river when the water volume is too high. With the significant rise in the water levels, the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsony, has declared a third-degree flood protection alert for all Budapest sections of the river Danube, with special attention to Margaret Island. Road traffic, including public transportation, and parking by the river will also be influenced as the Pest embankments and all of the Buda lower embankments are closed from land traffic from 8 PM, 16th September.
Budapest Flood September, 2024
Update on Sep 23, 12 pm: the official predictions about the length and height of the Danube flood water levels in Budapest are even more optimistic, now that the flood is receding in Budapest (past the peak), without major hiccups, gushes or complications from large debris carried by the river. The Danube is currently at 719 cm. After the riverbanks are cleared (disinfected if needed by the authorities to stop potential contamination of the sewage like river waters) and the pontoons, docks and ships are also cleared for safe and healthy use, Budapest visitors can enjoy the sightseeing city river cruises again. Some docks and several cruises are expected to get back into normal operations on the evening of Sep 24, 2024. Please check the online booking calendars for further details.
Update on Sep 21, 6.50 am: the official predictions about the length and height of the Danube flood water levels in Budapest keep changing over time depending on multiple factors, taking into consideration weather forecasts and other factors (e.g. the opening of the Lajta emergency reservoir). Some docks and several cruises are expected to resume on or around Sep 25 or Sep 26 depending on the specific characteristics of the docks, pontoons, ships etc. According to the updates estimates, the water levels will go down to navigable levels by Sep 25th which enables local cruise managers / nautical engineers / captains to assess the damage caused by the flood and make an informed decision whether a ship will or will not be accessible safely via the pontoon bridge and if the ship itself will be able to take a cruise on the river Danube.
As the water in the Danube in Budapest rises, cruise ships cannot pass underneath the bridges due to the lack of space. Also, some of the docks by the river Danube are covered in water, which means that currently, for the predicted period of Sep 17 and Sep 23 or 24, adjusted to approx Sep 26 re-adjusted again to approx Sep 24 Sep 25 sightseeing cruises, leisure boat tours and dinner cruises are not operating. Floods, vary in size, smaller flood alerts are expected annually, while bigger flood alerts may happen more rarely, typically once in a decade. Budapest is prepared for the flood (which may not be the case with some smaller villages along the river Danube outside the city so extra efforts are taken to protect them).
There is no knowing at this point if the flood will subside by 23rd or 24th or September as it also depends on further weather forecasts. According to the updates on Sep 20th, this may well go until Sep 25th 26th, 2024 (Sep 26 Sep 25 inclusive or exclusive depending on captains / service providers). If the rain keeps falling in the upper section of the river Danube, the volume is unlikely to drop, but will probably stay at the peak level a bit longer. However, if the rain stops, the flood will gradually subside and the water levels will sooner return to the peaceful and gentle depths of approx. 370 cm to the expected 800-850 cm (according to the Mayor, slightly under the levels of the 2013 great flood).
Cancellation and Vis Major
The cruises that are cancelled are due to a Vis major situation, the unexpected floods. Nevertheless, many cruise tickets are not simply lost.
Please check your inbox and spam folders if your ticket is in the affected period (Sep 17 – Sep 23 or 24 26, 25 estimated dates). If you have received a notification from the cruise ticket vendor, please follow the instructions and contact the vendor if you have any questions. If you have not been contacted, first please check your other emails that you may have used. In case you have not been contacted, please contact the vendor. If you have a valid cruise ticket, please check the related Terms and Conditions and contact the booking agent asap to find out the options regarding your reserved tickets. Kindly note that there are dozens of websites reselling cruise programmes so make sure to double check the issuer of your ticket and the customer service contact indicated on your ticket (phone number and email is always part of confirmed and prepaid reservations). The options may vary, typically offering a flexible date of change, a partial or a full refund or an open date voucher for the cruise programme in most cases. As much as we would love to help to sort out disputes regarding cancellations, we can only assist the customers whose tickets were booked and paid for on our website, BudapestRiverCruise.com.
Margaret Island, Budapest Flood
Budapest Flood Protection Preparations 2024 – FCSM.hu
The official Budapest Sewage Works (FCSM), which has been in charge of the flood disaster management in Budapest since 1946, along with its subcontractors are expected to make one million sand bags available, 80% of which are expected to be used on Margaret Island to protect the recreational island park with its beautiful historical buildings and sports facilities from the 2024 autumn floods. The so called flood protection zone on Margaret Island (Margitsziget) will be closed to both car or bus traffic and from pedestrians too from Sep 17th, Tuesday morning. If needed, the island itself may be closed down. “Budapest’s 90-kilometre long main defence line has already tested well several times, for example in 2013, when it protected the city from a record 891 cm water level,” according to the official FCSM site.
The city of Budapest divided by the Danube into Buda and Pest side, has seen over a dozen major floods and numerous minor floods in the last 200 years and, which has helped the city to be well prepared for the September flood to take the necessary precautionary steps. Please follow the official news channels for further updates regarding the Budapest Danube flood developments and to keep track of your reserved cruise programmes towards the end of the predicted flood period, Sep 23, 24, 25 and 26 or maybe longer. Please also make sure to behave responsibly by the river Danube in case you wish to take photos of the flooding Danube (which will most likely be brownish with all the sediments suddenly washed away in the pouring rains). You can also donate some of the organisations helping people during the flood, such as the Hungarian Red Cross (for financial support – to donate – you can call the following Hungarian phone number 1359 (only available from Hungary, not from abroad) or donate online.
Sandbags for Flood Protection: Do Not Climb
You will see hundreds of thousands of sandbags carefully stacked and professionally compacted to maximise the protection of the city by the river Danube in order to protect vulnerable parts along the river in Budapest and elsewhere in the country. FCSM / Budapest Sewage Works who is in charge of Budapest flood protection is asking everyone not to remove, destroy, climb onto or stand on top of the sandbags, not only during the flood alert but also after the flood alert is over. Standing on top of the sandbags may be harmful for the flood protection and dangerous for the onlookers too. The sands in the sacks will filter and gather filthy sediments arriving through the whole river Danube channels from the upper sections and may contain infectious / hazardous bits and pieces. Once the flood recedes, the company FCSM will recycle the sand bags as well as the sands (the bags will be reused to bag construction debris, while the sands – after a thorough disinfecting process – will be resold. Inforadio reports that Marianna Báthory, the spokesperson of FCSM is asking everyone not to misuse or take away the sandbags after the flood because it is impossible to know how contaminated the sandbags are. FCSM has been carrying out the hard and noble task of flood protection for almost 80 years in a professional manner). Environmental conscious recycling is also part of their professional procedure once the flood goes down.
Thank you for your cooperation, understanding and patience. We hope to welcome you back soon with the panorama cruises as soon as nature has run its course and the water levels drop to navigable depths.
Sources & Timeline:
24.hu / Budapest Danube Flood longer than expected in 2024
- Sep 23, 2024 Some of the sandbag walls are already being removed from areas where the flood did not reach to. Most of the sandbags are hoped to be collected and recycled by FCSM in charge of flood protection. The metro on Batthyany Square (M2 red line) restarted. The mayor is hopeful to give back the city of Budapest to its residents and visitors by the second half of the week.
- Sep 21, 2024 Saturday is the peak of the flood in Budapest at an estimated 832 cm (well below the record height by 59 cm). Batthyany metro station by the river Danube (Buda side) is closed down. The Flood Gates of the Hungarian Parliament and its Visitor Centre are in operation.
- Sep 20, 2024 Full flood protection is in place in the city, but the mayor is asking everyone to keep an eye on any potentially flood related gushing or leakage and report it as the prolonged flooding of the Danube puts a strain on dams and protection works, which, in turn, increases the risk of leaks. Flood hotline introduced by BM Directorate General for Disaster Management. Any flood related issues, call (free call for ‘Arviz vonal’) 00-36-80-204-240
- Sep 19, 2024 The flood takes longer to recede in Austria which is a warning sign for a probably longer recession in the Hungarian section of the river Danube too. The lack of foreseeable precipitation is reconfirmed. The flood is likely to peak on Saturday in Budapest based on the predicted trajectory of the flood graph of the national body General Directorate of Water Management (OVF).
- Sep 18, 2024 The emergency reservoir in Lajta – situated at the Austro-Hungarian border – is opened to alleviate the excess water and water pressure caused by the flooding river. Storm Boris is confirmed to be over in the region. A dry spell is predicted.
- Sep 17, 2024 Gabriella Siklós, he spokesperson of the Hungarian state authority, General Directorate of Water Management (OVF), said on M1 TV channel on Sep 17 (emphasis from BudapestRiverCruise.com): “the tidal wave usually takes 5-8 days to pass on the Danube, now it will take longer. If it doesn’t rain again, the snow melting in the Alps will still provide supplies, he added.”
Gergely Karacsony Mayor Office and Facebook messages
FCSM.hu (Budapest Sewage Works official website)
Inforadio Flood alert news
Kindly note that the original statement issued on Sep 17th has been updated on Sep 20th and on Sep 21st to reflect that the flood alert is taking longer. These are estimated times.
Please follow the water level predicitons here.
Please check the online booking calendars if you wish to make a pre-booking for the upcoming dates.
Updated: 12 pm Sep 23, 2024