From the Antiquity to the Middle-age, the zone around Pest were
mostly swamps.

Although, around Óbuda and the Gellert Hill, there were more
opportunities to cross. That’s why people settled there.

Pest became a prosperous settlement at the beginning of the
Middle-ages. And people started to build there, although there were
hills free from floods on the other side.

Pest stood on a small height, surrounded by a natural stream of
water.

Records show that there were floods already at the time. After 1012,
there were five major floods until the Tatars invasion, in the XIIId
Century.

After the turkish era, the rebuilt city was threatened by floods.

The largest flood hit and destroyed Ferencvaros in 1775.

More floods occurred all along the XVIII and XIXth Centuries.

Dams were built above and below the city.

However, the flood of 1838 surpassed everything. The cause was
extraordinary: after a cold winter, the thaw came late but rapidly,
and the already high, frozen Danube’s shattered ice floes congregated
at the Kopaszi-zátony (Kopaszi reef), where the river was then 1
kilometer wide but much shallower. They formed a dam essentially
constructed of ice. The authorities were aware of the impending
disaster, the military tried to break up this natural dam with
cannons, temporary dams were erected, boats were placed on standby in
the streets, but all attempts were in vain, so in the middle of 1838,
the most devastating flood in the city’s history occurred.

The water reached its peak on March 15, 1838, at 929 centimeters,
which was 1.5 meters higher than the previous record. The destruction
was immense, with more than half of the houses, or 2200 buildings,
collapsing. Fortunately, due to the rapid rescue efforts, the death
toll was “only” 153 people. It’s characteristic of Pest’s
terrain that a small hill stood where the Basilica is now, providing
refuge for many people.

For decades after that, one of the primary goals of urban development
was to regulate the Danube and protect Budapest from floods. Building
regulations were modified, but significant works could only commence
after the Compromise of 1867, despite the fact that there were floods
exceeding 700 centimeters in 1839 and 1850 as well.

Many works were done, embankments were raised, and land was gained
on the Danube bed, to make the city safer.

The results of the previous works were ‘tested’ by the devastating
flood of 1876, when the winter ice floes met the spring thaw flood.
While it caused damage in Óbuda and Buda, forcing 20,000 people to
evacuate, the flooded area was much smaller than in 1838.

It demonstrated
that the direction of flood protection was correct and also where the
plans needed to be modified.

As a result,
subsequent major floods, such as those in 1899 and 1954, with their
845-centimeter level, did not cause devastation.

The 2002 August
flood, when the river peaked at 848 centimeters in Budapest, and the
most recent record-high flood in 2013, which peaked at 891
centimeters, were severe tests for Budapest’s (and the country’s)
defenses.

However, certain areas in Budapest require increased protection, for example, Margaret Island and the Rónai bank do not have the same
level of flood protection as other parts of the city, and existing
embankments also require increased attention.

Hopefully, the
level of water didn’t reach the 2013 one (as you may see in the last picture below), and most of Budapest was
spared. Only quays were closed, as they were submerged.

Protections worked,
and solidarity prevailed.

The flooded quays.

© Stefan Gonzalevski

Margit bridge, seen from Pest side.

© Stefan Gonzalevski

Margit bridge, seen from Pest side.

© Stefan Gonzalevski

The Parliament during the flooding in 2024.

© Stefan Gonzalevski

The floodings levels.

© Stefan Gonzalevski

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