opened hotel was flooded on Monday, April 17, causing significant damage to the building and leading to the evacuation of tens of tourists. By this date, the floods had swamped of land, of roads and destroyed 20 bridges, while also causing agricultural damage amounting to 4.6 million lei (US$1.5 million). Additionally, five of Romania's nine Danube ports were closed during the flooding period. However, Romanian authorities said on April 22 that the worst of the flooding had passed. Elena Anghel, hydrologist at Romania's National Hydrology Institute stated that, "The forecasts are optimistic. The river will probably remain stable for another two days and then start to fall." However, by April 28, after several weeks of pressure, key levées along the Danube began collapsing in the counties of Dolj, Călărași, Constanța, Tulcea and Galați. The authorities carried out further evacuations in these regions, the number of evacuated people rising to 16,000. By this date, over 300 houses were completely destroyed with more than 150 villages and towns being directly affected by the floods. Serbia On April 16, 2006, a state of emergency was declared in 10 regions of Serbia. The areas around Serbia's second largest city Novi Sad were particularly vulnerable. A dozen cities were damaged and hundreds of people were evacuated. Near Veliko Gradište, the Danube reached heights as high as 9.65 meters (over 30 ft). Many people left the regions because water could not be purified. Other countries Floods were also reported in the North Macedonia, where several villages were flooded in North Macedonia's Pelagonija Valley. Germany and Czech Republic The Elbe River also rose 13 centimeters higher than in 2002 in some areas, creating 150-year-record-highs. In Germany, the medieval town of Hitzacker had water levels of 7.63 meters, destroying many buildings and causing considerable damage to other private property. Also affected was the town of Lauenburg. The German federal state of Saxony and the Czech Republic were not as affected, because in the four years after the record floodings of 2002, the two partners built a stronger levee system along the Elbe. On April 17, all states of emergencies in all counties of the German federal states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg were rescinded. Hungary The Danube river was at its peak 865 cm (28 ft 4 in) high in Budapest, Hungary, higher than the previous record of 848 cm in 2002. During the floods, approximately 11,000