Romania, hit by powerful storms
The weather has finally cooled in Romania, after a number of extremely hot days.
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Roxana Vasile, 27.07.2023, 14:00
The weather gives Romanians a break and finally cools a little, after days of very high temperatures. As meteorologists had already anticipated, on Thursday and Friday, due to a rare change of two air masses, one of hot air coming from the south of the continent and a colder one from the north and center, temperatures became, literally overnight, very pleasant, going down by around 15-20 degrees Celsius in only 24 hours. Maximum temperatures of 28 degrees Celsius have been forecast for Thursday. This sudden temperature change was accompanied, however, by powerful storms, which initially affected the west, north-west, north and center of Romania, and then spread to the rest of the country.
Moreover, on Thursday, a yellow code alert for storms and strong wind has been in place for the south, east and southeast of Romania. The storms took their toll. In Alba county (center), a woman died after a tree, uprooted by the strong wind, fell on the car she was driving, while two brothers from Botoșani (north-east) were fatally struck by lightning on a field.
In the county of Harghita (center), railway traffic was blocked temporarily, after several trees fell on the tracks. The storm also damaged the roof of the local swimming pool in Miercurea Ciuc. In Hunedoara county (west) there were fallen trees on the road and the railway, as well as electricity poles knocked down by the wind. Several localities in Iaşi (east) were left without drinking water, while the Black Sea port of Constanţa was closed due to the strong wind, with dozens of ships having to wait for the weather to improve.
The number of vehicles damaged by the storms is also very high. Images of the powerful storm in Oradea (west) were presented on all TV stations – roof tiles floating in the air and photovoltaic panels projected onto the sidewalk. Extreme meteorological phenomena are not reported only in Romania. Italy, for example, is dealing with both storms and fires and is heading for a state of emergency in five regions. Efforts are being made to put down the fires that have broken out in forests in Greece and Tunisia. The two Mediterranean countries have activated the civil protection mechanism of the European Union, which has responded quickly. Moreover, an increasing number of Mediterranean countries are affected by extreme heat and wildfires. A wildfire was reported near the port city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. Firefighters also struggled with the flames in Portugal and Spain. (EE)
