German and Czech environment ministers have pledged to thoroughly investigate whether a chemical plant near Prague has leaked toxic chemicals into the flooded River Elbe.

The German minister, Juergen Trittin, and his Czech counterpart, Libor Ambrozek, toured the Spolana plant in Neratovice, 15 kilometres north of Prague.

Chlorine gas leaked from Spolana

Flood waters from the Elbe have swept north through Germany, reaching their peak in the eastern city of Magdeburg.

People were forced from their homes on the edge of the city, but a planned major evacuation was not needed.

The German and Czech officials said studies were under way to determine whether pollutants had contaminated the Elbe, which originates in the Czech Republic and flows into the North Sea at Hamburg.

"We must clean this site up as quickly as possible," Mr Trittin said.

It was not clear how much - if any - of the pollutants from the factory has seeped into the Elbe.

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Mr Ambrozek said that preliminary studies indicated that levels of pollutants at the site were roughly the same as before the flood.

In Magdeburg, residents had been braced for the worst and there were plans to evacuate about 20,000 people.

More than 80,000 people have already been evacuated in eastern Germany and 18 have died.

At least 111 people have died in recent floods across Europe.

The river rose to 6.70 metres (22 feet) in the city which was nearly 30 centimetres (one foot) lower than expected and began falling.

Upstream from Magdeburg, floodwaters were also receding.

In Brandenburg state, the 5,000 residents of Muehlberg - which was abandoned last week - were allowed to return to their homes.

Many have found their homes destroyed

Evacuation orders were also lifted in many areas of Dresden and most of the city's schools were to reopen on Wednesday.

In Prague, officials estimated that about 150 families ad lost their homes in the city centre.

The floods were the worst in the city for 175 years.

Historic buildings have been damaged and the transport system severely disrupted.

Health risk

In the low-lying district of Karlin, experts were checking the safety of flood-damaged buildings after three apartment blocks collapsed last week.

Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has estimated the cost of the damage at $2.83 billion.

Mr Trittin has played down reports by German media that the flooding could cause serious outbreaks of disease, including hepatitis and dysentery.

He said that "normal rules of hygiene", including washing hands should be followed when returning to properties that had been flooded and that animal carcasses should be disposed of as quickly as possible.

Authorities in the Czech Republic have also warned that debris left by the floods is a health risk.

Tax cuts

Many sewage treatment plants in Prague were forced to halt operations.

The German Government decided on Monday to delay for a year planned tax cuts to finance the cost of clean-up operations.

Spokesman Joerg Mueller said the decision would allow about 7.5 billion euros ($7.3bn) to be released.

Private donations have also amassed tens of millions of euros in funds for the affected areas.

European Commission President Romano Prodi has promised EU aid for the four countries - Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia - worst affected by the disaster.