Radio România Internațional

Tag: damage

  • Measures against the effects of drought

    Measures against the effects of drought

     

    The heat wave that has been affecting Romania since June will gradually decrease in most of the country. People will be able to recover from the high temperatures, the increased thermal discomfort and the tropical nights that marked almost the entire summer. However, the weather is expected to be warmer than normal, with very few showers.

     

    Meteorologist Iris Răducanu: “On Wednesday, the heatwave will continue to be felt in the western regions, alongside high thermal discomfort. Maximum temperatures will be up to 35 degrees Celsius. In the south of the territory, the weather will be generally unstable and there will be showers, electrical discharges and wind intensifications.”

     

    Instability will also be present in the southeast, locally in the east, in the mountains and in smaller areas in the center and north. After three hot and dry months, what will September be like? Iris Răducanu: “The next four weeks will be with higher temperatures than those specific to the period, especially through the western and southern regions, while rains will be scarce.”

     

    The flow of the Danube at the entrance to Romania is slightly more than half of the multi-year average, and in 42 sectors out of the 120 monitored, it is below the minimum necessary to satisfy water demand, according to the Romanian Water Administration.

     

    As for the inland rivers, due to the heatwave and the lack of precipitation, two watercourses in the south have completely dried up. In over 600 localities in the country, especially in the east, the water supply is restricted. In almost 300 others, not connected to centralized systems, the wells have dried up. Vegetation fires add to this picture in the counties of Vâlcea (south) and Vaslui (east). In fact, in Vaslui alone, approximately 270 hectares of dry vegetation burned in the last few days, with military firefighters intervening to extinguish 25 outbreaks.

     

    Authorities have called on the population to be aware that fire in hot periods and with advanced dryness, out of control or in strong wind conditions, can endanger the health and even the lives of people and animals and cause significant material damage. In agriculture, farmers are preparing for a new agricultural year, but this summer’s drought has caused them significant damage. Moreover, the extent of the damage in Romania could have an impact on the entire European continent, according to analysts cited by Reuters. They believe that, for example, Romania, which competes with France for the title of the largest producer of corn in the EU, due to the numerous waves of drought and heat wave, could have a 30% lower production this year. It’s a challenge to grow corn in an oven. It is one of the most difficult seasons that Romanian farmers have faced – says one of the analysts. The Ministry of Agriculture in Bucharest announced that among the measures considered, in addition to compensation, is the suspension of bank installments for farmers from September 1.

     

  • The effects of storms in Romania

    The effects of storms in Romania

    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)

  • State aid for people affected by floods

    State aid for people affected by floods

    The extreme weather reported in Romania in the last couple of days caused significant damage in 13 localities in the west, in the area of the Apuseni Mountains, damaging more than one hundred households. The Ocolis, Rosia Montana, Campeni and Abrud villages were the worst hit. Fortunately, no victims have been reported. PM Florin Citu, accompanied by the interior minister, visited the area to assess the damages and promised the people affected they would receive rescue funds from the government as soon as possible.



    Florin Citu: “It is a miracle there have not been any victims in the area, given what happened — over 250 liters of water on square meter. The hard part follows, on the short term, to rebuild what has been destroyed. We will start with people’s households. We will make available all resources to improve things as soon as possible. Over a month ago we created the legal framework that allows us to disburse funds without holding a government meeting first, which means that, after a damage report is drawn up, people will start getting financial and material support.”



    We stand by people during hard times, interior minister Lucian Bode said in his turn. He gave assurances that the Government can allocate funds for the people affected and start rebuilding roads and securing water supplies.



    Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the coming period is not good, at least until the middle of the week. Until Wednesday, storms are expected across the whole country, heavy rain of 50 to 60 liters per square meter as well as hail. The situation is even more serious in Western Europe, where rescue teams are trying to find survivors of the deadly floods that wreaked havoc in Germany and the Benelux countries. Hundreds of people are dead or missing, and thousands others have been left without a home. Tens of thousands of households are without electricity. In Germany, the country worst hit by the flooding, Chancellor Angela Merkel promised that the federal government will offer the financial aid needed for reconstruction and will intensify efforts to combat the effects of climate change. The EU has also announced financial aid for Germany and other countries affected by the bad weather such as Belgium or the Netherlands. (EE)


  • Flash floods hit Romania

    Flash floods hit Romania

    News reports in Romania have been focusing on rainfalls, floods and flash floods, as the country is facing the rainiest month of June in 60 years. Rivers have overflown and killed people, destroying households, crops, bridges, and in some places disrupting road and railway transport.



    Where the danger is over, people are taking stock of whats left behind, and trying to fix what they can. Teams from the Inspectorate for Emergencies have been deployed to the flooded areas, and the Romanian Water Administration authority continues to monitor the rivers that are under warnings.



    The National Hydrology and Water Management Institute has lifted the code red alerts issued a few days ago for the rivers Prut, Timiş and Jiu, in the north and centre of the country, but they replaced them with code yellow or orange alerts.



    Special attention is still paid to Prut River, as flash floods occurring upstream, in neighbouring Ukraine, are quickly advancing towards Romania. Considerable flow rate increases have also been reported in the centre of the country, in counties Harghita and Covasna, where heavy rainfalls are expected to cause flash floods and mudslides. The danger is even greater on Timiş river, in the west.



    Meanwhile, military firefighters and gendarmes are carrying on assistance and support operations in the Jiu Valley area, where mining towns like Uricani and Aninoasa were badly hit. Hundreds of households were flooded and hundreds of people were evacuated.



    The Lupeni coal mine was also flooded. Almost 400 workers were evacuated after water went into the underground galleries, reaching one and a half metres high. Coal production was suspended until the situation is addressed.



    The heavy flooding reported in recent days in Romania is a consequence of chaotic exploitation of the forests and building materials along rivers, the Minister for the Environment, Waters and Forests Costel Alexe warned, after inspections on site. It is vital that we understand we need to take better care of the environment in the near future, so as to avoid situations like these, Costel Alexe said.



    Also while on site, the Interior Minister Marcel Vela called on local authorities in all the counties affected by flooding to step up the damage assessment and to submit relevant documentation to prefect offices.



    Weather experts warn that after this rainy spell, severe heat is expected to hit Romania.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Flooding makes victims in Romania

    Flooding makes victims in Romania

    In Romania, the flash floods caused by the heavy rains of the past few days have killed people and caused substantial damage. Most rivers in the country are subject to code orange and yellow alerts until Friday, and the situation is even worse in the north, where hydrologists have a code red alert in place until Thursday at noon for the river Tisa, in Maramureş County, and Prut, in Botoşani County. In these areas in particular, the risk of flash floods remains high.



    Until Thursday, weather experts have also issued a code yellow alert for temporarily severe unstable weather for all mountain areas, for the north, centre, east and parts of the south regions of the country.



    Flash floods have already been reported in three-quarters of the counties, and emergency teams have been deployed to pump water out of households. Strong winds have brought down trees and electricity poles, also requiring emergency intervention.



    Tens of people were evacuated and temporarily housed in buildings offered by local authorities or relatives, some of them as a precaution and others because their own houses were simply washed away.



    Households, gardens, farm land and streets have been flooded, and the situation could have been even more dramatic, had people not been warned by the RoAlert system. This is how some of the victims describe what happened:



    “The water was knee deep. We were flooded from both sides because of the brook, water came down both from the gardens, and from the street side.



    “Our animals are still in the water—the pigs, the horse, the cow. This is not the first time weve been flooded, but its not been that bad in a long time. Its a disaster.



    “This keeps happening for several years now. We need a dam. There is so much work and so much spending every time this happens, and it happens a lot. Water is half the height of the house walls. As for the garden, you dont want to know. But we are especially upset about the house—the furniture, the flooring, everything.



    In some towns as well, basements have also been flooded, and in the north of Bucharest the sewage system was temporarily unable to handle the situation. Radio Romania correspondents from around the country report collapsed roads, traffic jams, landslides or disrupted railway transport.



    In the west of the country, the most affected area is Alba County, where heavy rains triggered landslides. Hundreds of households and industrial units went under water, and scores of people were left without homes. Bridges were also damaged, and so were national and county roads and streets. A railway bridge was also damaged by mudslides, causing the traffic to be suspended. Tens of military firefighters, gendarmes and police, as well as Volunteer Emergency Services personnel were deployed to address the problem.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)