By Richard Davies
Flood and heavy rain warnings (click here) were issued in Romania, prompting the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to mobilize emergency teams across the country, including 12,000 police and gendarme officers, 3,200 firefighters and over 6,600 technical staff.
Flooding was reported in north eastern areas, in particular in the counties of Iași and Bacău. MIA reports that between 28 and 29 June around 400 homes have been flooded and around 15 roads and bridges damaged or closed. Local media said that 20 households in Trifesti, Iași County, were evacuated by military firefighters.
The Prime Minister has called for damage assessments to be carried out as soon as the severe weather has passed so the Government can put in place concrete measures to help the population and affected communities.
23 April 2014
By Richard Davies
At least four people (click here) have died in flooding incidents across southern Romania over the last few days.
In a similar situation to other Balkan countries, in particular Serbia and Bulgaria, heavy rainfall that began a few days ago, combined with melting snow, has led to increased river levels and flooding. Flood alerts for several rivers still remain in place.
Reports claim that around 235 people had to be evacuated form their homes. Around 10 counties in the south of the country have been affected by the flooding. Agriculture in the region has also been badly hit, with over 10,000 hectares of crops and pasture damaged by the floodwater.
Minister of Interior, Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel Oprea, confirmed on Monday 21 April 2014, that 4 people have been found dead after drowning in the flooding. He also confirmed that the flood situation seems to be improving and that the number of villages or localities affected by the floods has decreased from 86 to 35.
In his statement, the Minister also said that “The number of search and rescue missions of people in danger reached up to 576, while the number of operations to evacuate people from their homes exceeded 730”.
