| CATASTROPHIC FLOODING IN ROMANIA 30/06/2010 |
| (2010-06-30) |
| Last updated: 2010-07-01 16:41 EET |
According to the latest toll, at least 21 people have died as they were taken away by the torrents caused by rain or hit by lighting, while thousands have been evacuated, hundreds of households have been damaged or completely destroyed, and thousands of hectares of farmland have been flooded. The most affected are the counties in the north east and center of the country, and some in the south-west. Many localities were left without electricity.
Rail travel has been seriously disrupted, and many trips have been cancelled. Road travel has also been hampered, as many local roads have been destroyed and others have been blocked by trees and mud. Authorities are evacuating people from the affected areas and are building dams.
Prime Minister Emil Boc has traveled to the area and told people the government will send them food and other basic products from the state reserve and will access the EU solidarity fund. The damage is huge, being estimated at some 0.6% of the GDP. Prime Minister Emil Boc:
“First of all, we have allocated from the State Reserve Administration mineral water, beds and canned food for the people that have been evacuated. Secondly, we provide aid to the victims’ families of 1,100 Euros to be used for funeral expenses. We are now trying to assess all damage to see what the government can do to help. Also, we will use the EU solidarity fund to help people and local authorities rebuild the infrastructure that was destroyed by floods.”
Meteorologists have extended until Thursday the code yellow alert for rain for 18 counties in the north-east, center and south east, where the quantity of rain water is expected to exceed 25 liters per square meter, reaching even 40 liters in some areas. The code red alert for flooding is also in place until Thursday. In the localities on the banks of Prut, Siret and Danube rivers, the authorities and the inhabitants are on alert as the risk of flooding is still high.
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2025-04-03
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