Budapest Floods??

So kind of you to give us a detailed update on the weather & tourist impact, thanks!

17 Sept High 69 Low 55 Rain 9% chance
19 Sept H73 L56 R4%
21 Sept H75 L50 R2%

The train to and from Vienna isnt running but the Budapest to Vienna train is running all the way to the Austrian border. So if you can figure out how to make the 45 mile trip from Vienna to the Hungarian border town of Hegyeshalom you can catch a train to Budapest. I have no idea if the Budapest / Vienna highway is open in Austria. Dont know why it would not be, its as modern as any highway in Europe. It is open in Hungary.

Thank you for this update. The real life photos are helpful to see. My husband and I are due to arrive in Vienna early Saturday AM and are supposed to take a train from the airport to the city center and then catch an OBB high speed train to Budapest's Keleti station. We have reservations and seat assignments.

We are concerned and are not sure if we should cancel as we heard the worst of the Danube rising may be Friday, the day before we arrive. If we can get there from Vienna, are any major sites closed?

We really want to be able to cross into Buda to see Fisherman's Bastion, the cathedral there, etc. And we also want to see St Stephen's cathedral. We have tix to tour Parliament (saw on their site the visitor center entrance on the Danube is currently cloesd) and were thinking of booking tix to tour the Opera house, House of Terror, the city park with the castle and baths, etc. Momento Park, etc. Should we just check each website to see what's impacted before we leave?

Any future pictures you can share as things progress would be much appreciated. And any updates on public transport, metro, etc. is also appreciated. We will monitor the OBB site to see if we can even get here from Vienna on Saturday.

So far, nothing on the news has indicated that the bridges will be closed, just the lower roads among the river. The only thing of significance that will be affected will be the Shoes on the Danube memorial.

It's hard to imagine that the train to Budspest won't be running by Saturday. I wouldn't panic yet. And the weather is supposed to be pretty good this week.

Let's see what happens. I will post any significant news.

Based on one news report, it sounds like the Budapest/Vienna trains will be running on Wednesday.

Here is a current view of the river in Budapest (EarthCam). https://www.earthcam.com/world/hungary/budapest/?cam=hotelvictoria Or try this feed: https://www.idokep.hu/webkamera/hotelvictoria

The Danube rising isn’t anything new in Budapest and the city has found ways to deal with it. This has been downgraded in some reports from the highest storm surge in 20 years to the highest since 2013.

Right now the water is just starting to cover the lower road in some locations. The lower road goes under water a few times a year, so this isn’t anything special. Behind the lower road is a second embankment that is at least 20 feet tall, before water could begin to enter the city of Budapest.

There are a few low-lying exceptions but not many. Margrit Island for example. Most of Margrit Island is open today but may not be open in a day or two.

There is no report that any of the bridges are closed.

Some bus services have been impacted because the route uses the lower embankment road.

The 2/2B/23 stops before it crosses under the Chain Bridge. You will have to get off and walk to the other side of the bridge and then get back on the tram.

I am curious about the 2/2B/23 Tram stop near the Great Market Hall as it is also under a bridge. But no word that it has been affected.

The Current Weather? Hard to ask for better. Beautiful Day.

Well, I searched for information for an update, but there really isnt much going on here. They have sanbagged the lowest elevations on Margrit Island and a few other places were the walls are lower than average, but nothing terribly signficant. No sign that the city has made any change in lifestyle or activities.

For those coming or going to Vienna, the messages coming out of MAV are not terribly clear. It appears that thing should be back to near normal between now and Friday the 20th. https://www.mavcsoport.hu/en/node/145205

I am pretty sure you can drive the route and busses might be runnng but I suspect getting a ticket will be a challenge. A private transfer is a possibility though.

Thank you for the updates. They are very much appreciated.

I think we saw that that train we are due to be on Saturday from Vienna to Budapest left two hours late today. So that is encouraging news for Saturday. Unless there is flooding in later days that impacts the route. Who knows, right?

If you have any more updates, they are most welcome. As we leave the US around 12 noon on Friday, Sept 20 to make our way to the airport in Boston.

Its a beautiful day today. Almost warm. A few clouds, but mostly sunny. I crossed over the river twice today. The water is over the lower embankment but this isnt terribly unusual. Happened once before this year. But only looks maybe a foot over the lower embankment road near the Parliament.

The 2/2B/23 Tram stops at each side of the Chain Bridge so you have to walk from one side of the road to the other and reboard No big deal. This is being announced on the other trams and was the only announcement of a change because of the water level.

Life goes on as normal. Ohhh, the 4/6 tram wasnt stopping at Margaret Island, so I suspect the Island is closed but I havent heard that announced. I think the water is expected to crest tomorrow late, so by the weekend it should start going back down.

There really isnt any other news.

OK. Thank you for the update. If anything else changes, it would be great to know. We are still monitoring the OBB trains out of Vienna in the hopes we can get to Budapest on Saturday after arriving from the US early Sat AM. These updates are very helpful.

Stay dry! (Or maybe get a little wet with some tokaji aszu!)

David the weather here is absolutely beautiful. Warm, sunny. About as close to perfect as you can get.

Jencog, I can not imagine that the trains wont be running by Saturday and if you have a ticket there should be no problems. Of course the trains never did stop running to the Austrian border and if someone could get about 50 miles south of Vienna to Hegyeshalom, Hungary they could hop on the train there.

I heard that someone made it to Vienna from Budapest today via train. They had to get off at the stop (begins with H) right at the border and switch trains. Sounds like seat assignments do not matter and you just sit wherever. We’d be happy as long as we get to Budapest from Vienna safely on Saturday.

Sounds like some tram disruption but nothing too terrible. Thank you. Appreciate all the updates. So helpful.

That was Hegyeshalom. Not sure why the train would not go all the way thru. From Hegyeshalom its about 90 minutes to Budapest on the train.

This says the Vienna / Budapest train and the Vienna / Salzburg trains are running again https://www.mavcsoport.hu/en/node/145289

A little news today. Things are happening, but not on the tourist trails except for visiting Szentendre. Here is a photo of Szentendre. You dont really want to go there now https://contentf5.dailynewshungary.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Flood-in-Hungary-3-960x720.jpg

BKK said they would probably close the Battyány Square metro station on Friday. Metro trains will touch the station but will not stop there.

The Battyany Square station serves the M2 metro and the start of the H5 Commutter train to Szentendre. By "touch the station" i believe the translation is go to and past the station. So the M2 will be running to and beyond Battyany ter, just not stopping. i suspect thats because they have or will sand bag the entrance to the station. It flooded once in 2013. Not really a tourist route anyway.

Furthermore, authorities will place sandbags at the stairs of the H5 suburban railway underpass of the Batthyány Square and Margaret Bridge stations, so people will not be able to use them.

Pretty much means you arent getting to Szentendre for a few days, unless you take the bus. Interesting I met a couple from San Diego the day before last that was heading for the H5 station at the Margaret Bridge. They made it just in time.

Tram 1 has some restrictions on the route in Obuda, but not a tourist trail, so no impact.

The article https://dailynewshungary.com/budapest-metro-closes-flood-situation-serious/ with some pictures of the high water: But note that as you can see in this one, there is yet another high barrier wall that the water is not close to reaching the top of https://contentf5.dailynewshungary.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Budapest-flood-3-Copy.jpg But, outside of the city center mostly there are places where the wall is not so high. Again, not tourist areas.

Just walked the Liberty Bridge (Szabadság híd) Pest to Buda. I will post some photo links in a while. Nothing affecting tourism. Beautiful day.

Now the closed the 2/2/23 pretty much in their entirety from the Margrit Island bridge to the Great Market Hall. There are two places where the trams run under a bridge, the rest is high and clear and I guess they decided to shut it all down vs runing trams between bridges. The river crests tonight, so if it goes down as fast as it went up, I suspect the trams will be running by Saturday morning. We wait and see.

Town is full of tourists and they are out doing tourist things. Everything is open and operating.

Here are some photos. 2 of the water level the rest today, life as usual. https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ai7Zk-szxfTJi-NNhgER-l5GhGyLfg?e=n3g1ff

Thank you for all this detailed information. It is very much appreciated.

Please continue to share updates and photos as we won’t arrive until Saturday afternoon close to the peak in Budapest. Thank you and hope everyone remains safe.

The day and time of the peak keeps changing. Currently: The water level is expected to rise another 50 centimeters (1.64 feet) by Saturday evening, according to the General Directorate of Water Management, Hungarian media reported. .

The magnatude keeps changing too. It was "history making" now its the worst since 2013 and 2013 was a meter higher then expecte this time. But 2013 was a mess as the water made it into the metro system.

I havent been down to the river today, but a friend sent some photos. Looks to be a few feet deeper than yesterday, but still below the wall.

But the bridge are high and the access from Buda to Pest remains. Everything of interest in Pest is high and dry and Buda is a hill.

Here are the public transportation closures. Not horrible. https://bkk.hu/utazasi-informaciok/kozossegi-kozlekedes/arviz-miatti-forgalmi-valtozasok/kozlekedesi-valtozasok-az-arviz-miatt-budapesten.13161/

Nothing new today. But here is an article on the river boats https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/%20%20%20%20/cruises/articles/central-europe-floods-how-river-cruise-companies-are-adapting

For the most part the biggest impact is the trams along the river front are not running. https://bkk.hu/bkk-info/

The water is now receeding. Estimate is that by the 25th the lower road will be open and everything will be back to normal.

Ok. Thank you! This has all been very helpful. Much appreciated.

https://dailynewshungary.com/normal-traffic-gradually-resumes-in-budapest/

Things will be pretty much back to normal this week.

Mr E,
Thanks for the updates! Looks like the streets will be swept and clean for our upcoming visit! Phew…glad we can leave the hip waders at home!

If you brng the hip waders let me suggest fishing in Bosnia or Montenegro or Slovakia......

Mr E,
Do you know the condition of Margaret Island? I imagine if the lower roads were flooded, the island was flooded as well.

I don't think it was hit too hard. I know it's closed to traffic today but it might be open for pedestrian traffic. The 4/6 tram isn't stopping on the bridge though. I suspect a day or two and things will be back to normal.

Update on Margrit Island. https://budappest.com/when-will-margaret-island-reopen-to-visitors-in-budapest/

Thank you very much for the updates. These, along with all of your other posts about Budapest, are invaluable

So I guess our picnic location on Margaret Island on Monday is not going to happen…darn.
Guess we’ll pick up our provisions and find a bench somewhere and watch the world go by.
Is it ok to enjoy our own glass of wine in a public park or on a bench in a public square?

If Margrit Island is still wet:
Go to City Park ….
https://www.budapestinfo.hu/en/spend-the-day-in-city-park-varosliget
https://www.budahome.com/en/3637898/city-park-budapest

Or if you want to escape foreign tourists try Millenaris Park
https://welovebudapest.com/hely/millenaris-park/
https://youtu.be/xUgaj35yHHg?si=QUMplvzj0MkZ4YTs
https://www.programturizmus.hu/ajanlat-millenaris-programok.html

Hi there, my 1st post here, will be going to Budapest, then 7 Nov will move to Vienna, then 11 to Salzburg, what do you all think, will the train be ready by then?

I would choose City Park as a back up, but if you want out of the city a bit with views, take the bus up to Normafa Park (if the weather is nice).

Wednesday night, the 4/6 was still not stopping at the Margaret Island stop.

From another recent post in another thread it appears that the trains Vienna to Salzburg are running without problems. I'm not sure as fast though. The train Budapest to Vienna, no problem.

Still raining here today. Not hard. Rarely rains hard here, more like constant drizzle. Even when Austria was flooding we just got drizzle. Our high water came down the river from Austria, not local.

Streets are full of tourists making the best of it. Good excuse for Budapest souvenir umbrella. Margrit Island is still closed and the current rains are not helping that situation any. The problem is the wet ground and the fear of trees falling. I havent seen it, but they have apparently sandbagged the root systems to prevent them from rolling over in the wet soil.

I have had appointments all over Pest and Buda yesterday and today and no issues at all getting around. All the tram and busses and metros are running on the regular schedules, the only exception i am aware of is the 4/6 Tram isnt stopping at Margrit Island.

Looks like after today we have a week of dry weather and even a few pretty days. There is something about rain in the forecast on Wednesday but I wouldnt fret that as most often rain showers are evening or early morning things here. Have to wait till its a bit closer to know. Temps for the next week are 49F to 73F so not bad weather for sightseeing.

Thank you Mr E

James, I’m thinking this time of year would not be good to be on a Danube river cruise. Are you seeing the cruise boats traveling under the bridges?

I am considering a Danube cruise next year but have not decided when to go. My inclination is some time in July but would not rule out Autumn unless the river is too high. Thanks for on the ground reporting.

I havent witnessed any. They generally show up early and leave late. But I did meet a few tourists about a week ago that came in on a cruise, so they were running then. Summer? Then the river sometimes gets too low and you end up on a bus. Timing a cruise is a tricky thing. There are a number of websites that specialize in the subject and they would be worth tracking down and seeing what their recommendations are.

I will say that the raid that Central Europe got this year apears to be above the typical. Generally speaking, at least here in Hungary, its not a terribly wet time of the year. https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-precipitation-Rainfall,Budapest,Hungary illustrates that.

But again, its not about what happens here, its about what happens up river. The problem with river level is usually with the spring thaw in the alps

Margrit Island is open and the tram stops