Đuroković: Water levels are extremely high but dykes are holding

The front line has never been this long in Croatia's battle with the threat of flooding, said the head of the national water management company, Hrvatske vode, on Wednesday evening as rivers in central Croatia were expected to reach peak levels overnight.

Zoran Đuroković was speaking in Hrvatska Kostajnica, where the flood wave was approaching its peak.

"The rain has been falling hard all over the country, water levels are extremely high, but the dykes have not burst," said Đuroković, in an interview aired on HRT's nightly news.

Several thousand people were active in the flood prevention effort in Kostajnica and they have managed to reduce the backwaters that have been spilling over.

"We are at the peak of the wave in Hrvatska Kostajnica. The river has reached 498, close to the cut off of 500 cm. We are doing what we can. We must keep the Una away from homes. There's a lot of seepage because Kostajnica is an old town. We are pumping what's come in with the help of all the emergency services on site. We are keeping the situation under control," he said.

Đuroković said flood prevention services are trying to minimize the damage but some flooding of homes could be impossible to avoid.

The Korana and Kupa Rivers are believed to be close to their peaks.

Croatia has more than 4 thousand kilometers of dykes and they have all held so far, said Đuroković.