Hungary village evacuated as new toxic flood 'likely'

BUDAPEST, Oct 9, 2010 - Hungarian authorities evacuated 800 villagers Saturday saying a second flood of toxic sludge from an aluminium processing plant was likely after new cracks appeared in a reservoir.

The villagers were evacuated at dawn from the western village of Kolontar, closest to the reservoir that burst on Monday, killing seven people and injuring scores, and poisoning the surrounding countryside.
Authorities meanwhile warned thousands of residents in the nearby village of Devecser to be ready to be moved if necessary, officials said.

“The reservoir is so damaged that it is likely that it will give way for a second time,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday. “If the dyke of the reservoir gives way, about 500,000 cubic metres will be released. Several cracks are visible from the north side of the reservoir,” he said.

handout picture received from Greenpeace on October 8, 2010 shows an Aerial view of a village contaminated by toxic sludge close to the site of the initial spill in Ajka on October 7, 2010. Fears that Hungary's toxic spill could destroy the ecosystem of the Danube, Europe's second longest river, eased, as contamination levels appeared to fall, an expert told AFP.

The first flood on October 4 released 1.1 million cubic metres (38.8 million cubic feet) of foul-smelling red toxic sludge into villages and rivers, killing seven people and injuring scores. “The evacuation of Kolontar began at six in the morning (0400 GMT) after we noticed that the dam started weakening at tank number 10,” Disaster Relief Team chief Tibor Dobson told AFP.

The new crack was seven centimeters wide (three inches), officials said. The Kolontar villagers were transported by bus to Ajka, the nearest major city which is 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the capital Budapest.

Dead fish were seen floating in the Danube on Thursday although environmental officials said that water quality samples were close to normal in the river. The pollution already wiped out all life in the smaller Marcal tributary and experts say it will take up to five years for that river to recover.

The wildlife protection group WWF warned of a “string of other disasters waiting to happen” all along the Danube basin.