Radio România Internațional

Tag: flood

  • Extreme weather in Romania

    Extreme weather in Romania

    With the exception of Constanta and Tulcea, the two counties on the Black Sea coast, extreme weather wreaked havoc on the entire Romanian territory for the past two days. This has not been the first summer episode of extreme weather when periods of extremely hot weather and thermal discomfort are alternating with heavy rainfalls and thunderstorms and it won’t be the last though. Recently issued red and yellow alerts have been followed by the flood alerts issued by the hydrologists.

    According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, thunderstorms have affected 40 towns and villages in 19 counties across Romania. Firefighters have intervened to pump water out of tens of households, basements and streets. A fallen fir-tree has disrupted road traffic on DN 1, the busiest road in Romania and southern Europe.

    Firefighters also had to remove debris consisting of broken roof, dozens of fallen trees and electricity posts that blocked various roads and caused damage to 10 vehicles.

    Rail traffic has been temporarily disrupted on a railway segment in north-eastern Romania. According to sources with the local rail company known as CFR Travelers, 13 trains were affected by the hot weather and thunderstorms that followed on Tuesday. The capital city Bucharest and its surroundings, known as Ilfov, have also been affected by the extreme weather and firefighters had to intervene in many situations. Gale-force winds have broken trees and electricity posts and firefighters had to put out the fires caused by them.  Two people have been hit by the broken branches and roughly 40 vehicles destroyed. Electricity supplies have been disrupted in the county of Prahova, southern Romania.

    15 trees have been broken and seven roofs destroyed in Maramures, north-western Romania. Rescue teams gave the first aid to a man wounded by a tarpaulin broken by the gale force wind also in Maramures, where a man was declared dead after being struck by lightning.

    Authorities have given assurances the situation will be closely monitored by the National Operational Center with the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations with a view to taking the right and most effective measures to do away with the effects of the extreme weather.

    (bill)

  • The Week in Review 21 – 27 June

    The Week in Review 21 – 27 June

    New
    Relaxation Measures starting July 1st

    Against the latest significant drop in the infection
    rate with the novel coronavirus (under 100 in the past 24 hours) the government
    in Bucharest has endorsed a new series of relaxation measures. So, private
    events will be attended by a larger number of people, restaurants, cafes and
    clubs will remain open for more hours, while sporting facilities are allowed to
    function at 50% of their capacity. Hotels and guest houses as well as other
    accommodation facilities are allowed to function at their full capacity.
    Outdoor fairs and similar events will also be allowed. In another development,
    a quarter of the Romanians above 12 years old have been vaccinated, while
    others are presently immune after having suffered from the disease in the past.
    Experts believe that herd immunity will be obtained after 2 out of 3 Romanians
    have got the jab and authorities are presently targeting the young people, urging
    parents to vaccinate their kids. They also want to step up the vaccine rollout
    in the countryside as only 4.7 Romanians have fully vaccinated and authorities
    aren’t satisfied with the figures.


    Valeriu Gheorghita, the physician in charge of
    Romania’s vaccine rollout, says that authorities expect a higher number of
    infections in the colder season but a significant increase could be avoided if
    people got the vaccine in larger numbers in the next couple of months.
    According to the Romanian official, vaccination is a prevention measure and
    Romanians shouldn’t get the vaccine only when the number of infections is high.
    Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has also admitted that the people’s interest
    in vaccination has diminished.




    Klaus Iohannis: The vaccine rollout has been a success and
    we have practically stopped the pandemic in its tracks. Now that we are having
    a smaller number of cases, the interest in getting the vaccine has diminished.
    So, our success somehow can be seen in this low interest, but I still believe
    that vaccination is vital.





    The
    government led by Florin Cîțu faces its first no-confidence vote


    Six months after its inauguration,
    the Florin Cîțu Government faces the first motion of no confidence filed by the
    main opposition party in Romania on Wednesday. The Social Democrats accuse the
    government of implementing measures that have led to the impoverishment of the
    population and a free fall of the economy. They recall the freezing of
    pensions, salaries and child allowances and criticize the way in which the
    executive drafted the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, under which, they
    say, the population will pay more to benefit from European funds. The Social
    Democratic Party also accuses the lack of effective measures for the economic,
    health-care and education sectors. According to PSD First Vice-president, Sorin
    Grindeanu, the Romanians have become poorer in the past six months.




    Sorin
    Grindeanu: The Romanians have become poorer in the
    past months and it’s only in the mind of Prime Minister Citu that they are
    faring any better. Prices in electricity and gas have almost doubled while 70%
    of the Romanians believe the country goes in the wrong direction.




    The leadership of the Social
    Democratic Party considers that the move has chances of success and says that,
    currently, they are negotiating with parliamentarians from other parties to
    support the motion. In response to the statements made by the Social Democrat
    leader Marcel Ciolacu, according to which negotiations are underway, including
    with several parliamentarians from the governing coalition, the USR-PLUS
    co-president Dan Barna says that no senator or deputy of his party will support
    the motion.




    Dan
    Barna: We
    have not been contacted and I doubt that Mr. Ciolacu has any hope, other than
    as a joke, that any USR-PLUS parliamentarian would support this motion that
    they have announced. This is the role of the PSD, to remain in opposition,
    always ready, and I agree with this line.


    The
    no-confidence motion is to be voted and debated upon on Tuesday.







    New
    Facilities in the Public Pension System




    A
    law on purchasing seniority in work was promulgated by Romanian President Klaus
    Iohannis on Tuesday. The law establishes the legal framework for completing, by
    the persons who do not have the quality of pensioner yet, the contribution period
    in the public pension system necessary for granting an old-age pension, an
    early retirement pension or a partial early retirement pension. Among the potential beneficiaries are
    the millions of Romanian expatriates, looking for a better life, usually in
    Western Europe, and who have incomplete contributions to the Romanian pension
    fund. There are also people in the country with incomplete work seniority
    either because, at some point, they remained unemployed or because they chose
    to free-lance, found various undeclared jobs and no longer paid contributions
    to the pension system. Those interested can
    buy a maximum of six years of seniority prior to reaching the standard
    retirement age. The payment of this social security contribution can be
    made in a single instalment or monthly, until August 31, 2023.







    Flooding
    and Extremely Hot Weather in Romania


    Romania
    was in for a-typical summer weather this week, which kicked off with a series
    of yellow and orange flood warnings, torrential rain and thunderstorms mainly
    in the country’s eastern regions. Even red flood warnings have been issued for
    several rivers there. Heavy rainfalls have caused damage to households and numerous
    hectares of farmland while road traffic has been disrupted. The week ends with
    a first red warning for hot weather and high discomfort indexes in several
    counties in western Romania where temperatures soared to all-time highs of
    38-40 degrees centigrade. Orange alerts for extremely hot temperatures have
    been issued for the country’s western and central regions and yellow alerts for
    the rest. The Health Ministry has called on public health authorities in
    various counties across Romania to take all the necessary measures to reduce
    health risks caused by the hot weather. First-aid centers fitted with
    air-conditioning and trained personnel have been opened in many areas.


    (bill)











  • Floods hit Romania

    Floods hit Romania

    The heavy rainfalls of the recent days, assigned code yellow and orange alerts by meteorologists, have created massive problems in several parts of the country. Hydrologists have also issued several flood alerts valid in many counties, the most affected region being the north of the country, where a code red alert was in place. Flash floods were reported and the high water flow rates reached by several rivers have caused damage in scores of villages and towns.



    In the north of Romania, in Maramures County, a 63 year old man died on Wednesday, swept away by such an overflow. Several rivers flooded hundreds of hectares of farm land, pastures, households, national, county and local roads, while segments of railroad were silted up.



    In the affected areas, the authorities brought in sandbags, power pumps and other equipment in order to take the water out of the flooded households. In the village of Turbuta, in the north-west of the country, the pontoon bridge was rendered unusable, the only access way into the village being a ramshackle footbridge that makes it impossible for firefighters or ambulances to get there in case of emergency. People say the only solution is to wait for the waters to withdraw.



    Severe problems have also been reported in other villages, where roads have been affected by river overflows and the locals have to use by-pass routes. Farmers are the most upset, because many of them see their crops under water and the damage is substantial. The locals in many villages in the north of the country received warnings via the RO-Alert system, regarding a prospective major flash flood. Tens of people were evacuated, and more than 100 people called the 112 emergency number.



    In the south of Romania as well, the rainfall caused flooding that required the intervention of military firefighters, which brought in power pumps to help take out the water from peoples homes. Thousands of people were left without electricity.



    Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed an aid programme of over 8 million euros for the north-east of the country, which was severely affected by floods last summer. Following the heavy rains falling from mid-June to early August 2018, massive damage was caused in terms of infrastructure, farm land and housing in 6 counties in that region, particularly in Neamt, Bacau and Suceava. The Romanian authorities estimate that the rescue and civil protection operations cost nearly 295 million euros.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Floods hit Romania

    Floods hit Romania

    The heavy rainfalls of the recent days, assigned code yellow and orange alerts by meteorologists, have created massive problems in several parts of the country. Hydrologists have also issued several flood alerts valid in many counties, the most affected region being the north of the country, where a code red alert was in place. Flash floods were reported and the high water flow rates reached by several rivers have caused damage in scores of villages and towns.



    In the north of Romania, in Maramures County, a 63 year old man died on Wednesday, swept away by such an overflow. Several rivers flooded hundreds of hectares of farm land, pastures, households, national, county and local roads, while segments of railroad were silted up.



    In the affected areas, the authorities brought in sandbags, power pumps and other equipment in order to take the water out of the flooded households. In the village of Turbuta, in the north-west of the country, the pontoon bridge was rendered unusable, the only access way into the village being a ramshackle footbridge that makes it impossible for firefighters or ambulances to get there in case of emergency. People say the only solution is to wait for the waters to withdraw.



    Severe problems have also been reported in other villages, where roads have been affected by river overflows and the locals have to use by-pass routes. Farmers are the most upset, because many of them see their crops under water and the damage is substantial. The locals in many villages in the north of the country received warnings via the RO-Alert system, regarding a prospective major flash flood. Tens of people were evacuated, and more than 100 people called the 112 emergency number.



    In the south of Romania as well, the rainfall caused flooding that required the intervention of military firefighters, which brought in power pumps to help take out the water from peoples homes. Thousands of people were left without electricity.



    Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed an aid programme of over 8 million euros for the north-east of the country, which was severely affected by floods last summer. Following the heavy rains falling from mid-June to early August 2018, massive damage was caused in terms of infrastructure, farm land and housing in 6 counties in that region, particularly in Neamt, Bacau and Suceava. The Romanian authorities estimate that the rescue and civil protection operations cost nearly 295 million euros.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 28 December, 2015

    28 December, 2015

    1.3 million Romanians working for minimum wage in the private sector and for companies where the state is a partner are going to find out on December 30 if their income goes up, after the last sit down of the executive for this year. Until then, PM Dacian Ciolos is holding talks with employers and unions. In January, over 630,000 employees collecting state wages, such as public administration, police and gendarmes will get 10% higher wages for the end of the year. Romania is next to last, over Bulgaria, in terms of the minimum wage, worth 230 Euro a month gross. In the Czech Republic the minimum wage is 332 Euro a month, in Poland 410, in Spain 760, and in Germany 1,470 Euro a month.



    In the southern and Midwestern United States, tornados and flooding have left 43 dead in the last week, according to Reuters. Experts indicate a polar weather front as the main cause, bringing heavy snows, floods and strong gusts of wind, with freezing rains on large areas, from west Texas to New Mexico. New Mexico had 60 cm of snow, while in the New York area temperatures have reached 20 degrees centigrade. Unusual weather has afflicted Europe as well, with the worst flooding in 70 years in the north of the UK, while Germany, Austria and France have unusually warm weather. Spain, at the same time, reports brush fires, while dozens were evacuated from the Danish capital, Copenhagen, after floods hit the city.



    AFP has declared German Chancellor Angela Merkel the most influential personality of 2015, in light of the Middle East migrant crisis and Greece’s financial near collapse. Time magazine also designated her as the most notable person of the year, beating to the plate Russian President Vladimir Putin, who won the title in 2014.



    At least 14 people were killed and 132 injured in a bombing in Homs, the third largest city in Syria, with a majority Alawi population, according to a Syrian state television report. Another report, however, indicates that 32 were left dead and 90 injured in the attack, according to AFP and Reuters.



    Stratfor, a geopolitical analysis agency, says that Romania will play an important role in a future anti-Russian coalition. According to their forecast, Romania, Poland and Hungary will attempt to regain territory lost to Russia at some point in the past. Stratfor believes that the future of CEE will be defined by US interests. Poland is supposed to become the regional leader, while the EU, even though it would hold together, would be much more divided. The organization also expects Moscow to be afflicted by sanctions and low oil prices.



    Holland takes over the rotating EU presidency on 1 January 2016 for the 12th time. The most important issues it will be facing are the wave of migration and terrorism. Dutch PM Mark Rutte said this is going to be a very pragmatic presidency, focused on common issues. As for migration, the Dutch premier said he was irritated by the fact that the migrant crisis fell on the shoulders of western EU members, while eastern members shirked their duties in this respect.


    Translated by Călin Coţoiu