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Production
Estimates and Crop Assessment Division |
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Production
Estimates and Crop Assessment Division |
August 16, 2002
An unusually large summer storm pounded central and eastern Europe during the second week of August, creating widespread and severe flooding. The Czech capital of Prague, and the German city of Dresden lie at the center of the storm and its devastation. The low lying lands along Europe’s most utilized river and its tributaries, the Danube, as well as the Elbe in Germany were exposed to the most severe flooding. The hardest hit countries were the centrally located nations of Czech, Slovakia, Germany and Austria.
Affects on Agriculture:
The giant storm system, more commonly experienced in winter, intensified over the Mediterranean Sea before it moved over continental Europe. It spread rain on the long-parched eastern European landscape, which has already seen cereal production drop from early summer precipitation deficits. The storm’s massive expanse enabled it to douse Eastern Europe in entirety. In areas where rainfall totals weren’t as extreme, the rains will certainly prove beneficial to the summer crops. Ironically, before the storm, the entire region of central Europe had seen low crop yields due to an extended lack of moisture and excessive early summer heat. Among the benefactors to this recent weather change will be the farmers in drought stricken areas of eastern Hungary, eastern Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. These areas have until recently experienced a hot, dry summer which has accelerated plant development and left corn and sunflower plants withering. During recent FAS travel through the region in late July and early August much of the corn crop was stunted and past the point at which additional rainfall could help. The summer crops that were planted late (some as late as June because of early dryness) will however, see marked improvements. Sunflower, showed resilience during the field travel, with many fields looking quiet well.
The middle countries of Eastern Europe produce wheat, barley, and rapeseed. In addition, corn is also grown in Slovakia. The wheat crop and the region’s primary oilseed crop, rapeseed, is predominantly autumn seeded. Barley is largely a spring planted grain. Corn, a spring planted crop is still in the ground and hence vulnerable to the heavy August rains.
The first half of Eastern Europe's 2002/03 summer season had higher than normal temperatures and saw prolonged dryness that began after fall planting. This unhealthy combination triggered an early harvest, which would have been completed before the heavy August rains arrived between August 10th and 13th. Therefore, the winter grain crops should not have been caught in the field during the flooding. The corn crop however, largely grown just in Slovakia (700,00 MT on average), probably suffered from the excessive rains but as of now the effects are uncertain.
Precipitation Totals for Prague, Czech Republic
Precipitation Totals for Bratislava, Slovakia
Precipitation Totals for Other Eastern European Capitals During August
