The effects of storms in Romania
The strong winds have caused serious damage in Bucharest and in 13 counties across Romania.
Daniela Budu, 03.04.2024, 13:50
17 counties across Romania and the capital Bucharest were, on Tuesday, under code orange alert for strong winds, which caused serious damage in localities in 13 counties and in Bucharest. Wind speeds generally reached 80 – 85 km/h, and at high altitudes in mountainous areas, gusts exceeded 120 km/h. The rest of the country was under code yellow alert for strong winds. There were breakdowns in the electricity supply and the fire brigade had to intervene to clear the construction elements uplifted by the wind, the fallen trees and the electricity poles that fell on the roadway. In Bucharest alone, firefighters intervened in almost 300 cases to manage the damage caused by the strong wind, and in Ilfov county, near Bucharest, 29 requests were handled.
According to a press release by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations – ISU, the most frequent problems were caused by fallen trees on the roadway or cars, as well as sheet metal parts detached from the rooftops of buildings, plaster detached from buildings as well as damaged building rooftops and fallen poles. In the country, road traffic was temporarily disrupted on numerous sections of roads due to fallen trees on the roadway. Moreover, railway traffic was also temporarily affected. Houses and outbuildings were also damaged. The strong winds equally caused several fires. Firefighting aircraft of the Romanian Air Force joined, in these situations, the firefighters who were fighting the flames. Actions were made difficult by the strong wind, which caused the flames to spread rapidly. Also, there were breakdowns in the electricity supply in numerous localities in several counties.
The teams of electricity distributors intervened to fix the malfunctions, including in Bucharest, where there were several requests. The mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, gave assurances that the pace of moving the cables underground was accelerated, in order to avoid such situations in the future. According to the general mayor, in the last three years about a thousand kilometers of cables were removed from the poles and replaced with underground cables. As to the the fallen trees, he said, on a private television station, that the risk of their collapse is more difficult to anticipate, given that their roots happen to be cut when various works are carried out.
For the coming days, meteorologists announce temperatures above the normal values for this period of the year in most regions of Romania. The wind intensity will decrease compared to the previous period, however it will still intensify in the mountains, especially in the Eastern Carpathians. (LS)
