( CNN ) -- Surging rivers in the Czech Republic , Germany and Slovakia caused widespread flooding Wednesday in the region . Heavy rains had swelled the Elbe , Danube and Vltava rivers over the weekend , along with smaller rivers and tributaries . The flooding prompted the evacuation of about 25,000 people in Germany and about 20,000 in the Czech Republic , where about half of the country 's regions were under a state of emergency , officials said . Eight people have died as a result of the floods in the Czech Republic , fire service spokeswoman Nicole Zaoralova said . Read more : Floods bring misery to central Europe . `` The situation is still critical in the city of Usti , '' she said . `` We are expecting the situation on the River Labe ( Elbe ) in the northern Bohemia region of Ustecko to become worse during the day . The river has not peaked yet , and the levels are rising . '' More heavy rain was predicted for the weekend . After it passes through Usti nad Labem , the Elbe crosses into the eastern German state of Saxony ; German cities downstream such as Dresden were expecting the surge to arrive within two days . The river was expected to crest Thursday or Friday near Dresden and Meissen at about 9 meters ( 30 feet ) ; its average level is 2 meters , said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller . The crest will push northwest along the Elbe for the next several days but should peak below 2002 flood levels , he said . The floods are thought to be the worst since August 2002 , when swaths of Germany , the Czech Republic , Austria , Slovakia , Russia and Romania were submerged . Mud clearing . A state of emergency has been declared in about half the regions of the Czech Republic , the European Emergency Response Center said . The Czech fire service was moving heavy equipment to regions at risk , Zaoralova said . In some areas of southern Bohemia , the focus was shifting to cleanup , with equipment deployed to clear mud . Nearly 23,000 firefighters , including volunteers , were deployed across the Czech Republic , she said . CNN iReport : Floods in Prague through a volunteer 's eyes . The Vltava River had peaked in Prague , where waters were receding , but the fire service was monitoring the waters to clear any debris that could damage the capital 's historic landmarks . An excavator was moved onto the centuries-old Charles Bridge to protect it . Volunteer efforts . Saxony appeared to be the most vulnerable area Wednesday , after river levels dropped slightly in much of Bavaria , to the south . Warnings were in place around the rivers Elbe , Lausitzer Neisse , Mulde , tributaries of the upper Elbe , Black Elster , Spree and White Elster , according to the German meteorological service . Danny Arguello , an international business student in Dresden , told CNN iReport that he was impressed by the outpouring of support as volunteers tried to protect the city . `` The participation around the whole town is just amazing , '' he said . Volunteers were cooking food , moving sandbags and helping with other flood preparations , he said . Water remained high on the Danube between Regensburg and Passau , in southern Bavaria , the meteorological service said . In Passau , where the Danube is joined by two other rivers , levels broke a 500-year-old record Tuesday . During a visit to affected areas Tuesday , German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to deliver 100 million euros ( more than $ 130 million ) in emergency aid . The German military has been aiding evacuation and flood defense efforts . A fireman and a laborer died Saturday in Germany 's southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg , the state 's Interior Ministry said . A third man jumped into rushing flood waters in what the Interior Ministry said was an apparent suicide . Two men who were clearing storm debris died in Austria in separate incidents , Austrian Interior Ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundbock said . Three other people were missing , two of them swept away by rivers . Floods and landslides prompted an emergency declaration in three Austrian regions , and a number of railways and roads remained blocked , the European Emergency Response Center said . However , with water levels receding , the situation was improving . Menace moves downstream . The Danube was threatening Slovakia too . Waters had reached flood stage in the capital , Bratislava , and were expected to rise for the next day or two . `` We expect the situation in Slovakia to become critical on Thursday , when the Slovakian portion of the River Danube is expected to peak , '' said Silvia Jancovicova , a spokeswoman for the Slovakian fire department . `` We are currently preparing anti-flood barriers , and planning for the possibility of evacuation of some areas in Bratislava . '' No flood-related deaths had been reported there , she said . Also at risk was the southeastern Slovakian city of Kosice , where the mayor declared a flood emergency . The flooding follows rains in the region over the weekend that fell on ground already saturated by a wet spring . CNN 's Sarah Brown and Victoria Eastwood contributed to this report .
NEW : 13 people are dead across the Czech Republic , Germany and Austria . NEW : About 25,000 people died in Germany , mostly in Czech Republic , officials say . The swollen Danube River threatens cities in Slovakia . A cleanup operation has begun in southern Bohemia .