Romania hit by flooding
Flash floods cause the death of one man and make significant damages across the country.
Corina Cristea, 26.06.2023, 14:00
Several hundred people were stranded in Romania because of flash floods, which swept away bridges and blocked national and local roads. Dozens of homes were damaged or completely destroyed, railway travel was disrupted and torrential rain made traffic difficult on the motorway to the Black Sea coast. And, tragically, a 74-year old man died as he was carried away by the floods in a village in the west of the country. In Arad county, torrential rain in Brazii village was followed by two flash floods that swept everything away, leaving behind damaged homes, flooded households, blocked roads and swallowing up cars and trees. A village road was destroyed and the supply of drinking water was interrupted in two villages due to damage to the chlorination station. In Hunedoara county, hundreds of people were stranded because of the destruction caused by the flooding to access roads, with teams of electricians dispatched to repair the damage and restore the supply with electricity to over 1,200 persons. A number of bridges were destroyed by flooding following heavy rain in the northern part of Buzău county, where fire fighters were sent in to drain the water from the flooded households.
The spokesman for the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations Adrian Marin summed up the situation:
“Following heavy precipitation, 65 settlements were affected in 21 counties and the capital Bucharest. Our teamswere dispatched to drain the water in 54 homes, more than 220 courtyards, 62 cellars and two streets. Other teams cleared away 20 trees and two poles that fell on the road and damaged four cars. Road travel was also disrupted, with three county roads being blocked in the counties of Arad, Covasna and Hunedoara and travel on two other national roads and two county roads temporarily disrupted because of the water and the alluvia deposited on the road. With regard to the supply with electricity, damages were recorded in nine villages in two counties, Hunedoara and Vrancea, where over 8,000 users were left without power.”
Fire fighters, gendarmes, road maintenance workers and the local authorities are working round the clock to address the negative effects of the dangerous weather phenomena that have hit the country, said the authorities. Hydrologists are warning that there is still a risk of flooding on many waterways around the country, especially with respect to the water coming down from the mountains, flash floods and rising levels of small streams and rivers causing local flooding. (CM)
