The waters are rising fast in Frankfurt an der Oder. The wide, brown River Oder that marks Germany's border to Poland looks like it's bulging dangerously, large branches and bushes sweeping ominously by at an alarming speed. On Thursday, the meter near the river bank in the city center reads 360 centimeters (141.7 inches). "That's 55 centimeters higher than it was yesterday," said Moana Engelke, a Green Party candidate in this Sunday's Brandenburg state election.

Even though she could easily check the water level online, Engelke, like many locals, likes to observe the ritual of going down to the bank to look at the glowing red numbers on the meter. The meter has been here since well before the summer of 1997, when the region was hit by a devastating flood that cost 74 lives and several billion euros worth of damage.

The 1997 floods led Frankfurt and Slubice, the Polish town on the eastern bank, to bulk up flood prevention measures, and the twin towns are now comparatively well-prepared: Levees have been built, budgets have been set aside, plans have been drawn up.

All of which means that the people here are not too worried yet — 360 centimeters is nothing, though with the flood wave moving inexorably north from Poland and the Czech Republic, that will change very soon. Official prognoses predict that the Oder will reach 420 centimeters (or Alarm Level I) on Friday, and 530 centimeters (Alarm Level III) as soon as Saturday. According to town hall spokesman Uwe Meier, 600 centimeters, which is the fourth and highest Alarm Level, can no longer be ruled out.

And yet, sitting in the city's handsomely refurbished medieval town hall, Meier seemed relatively relaxed: Though emergency shelters have been organized, authorities........

© Deutsche Welle