Radio România Internațional

Tag: heavy rain

  • Heavy rain across Romania

    Heavy rain across Romania

    Counties in western and southwestern Romania are until
    Tuesday under a code orange alert for heavy rain. Rainfall volumes are expected
    to range from 40 to even 60 liters per square meter. Meteorologists have also
    issued a code orange alert against severe instability for areas in the west,
    southwest, center and the south, as well as for the Southern and Western
    Carpathians. During the interval, heavy rain, electric storms and hail are
    expected, as well as strong wind. The targeted areas were also affected by
    heavy rainfall last weekend as well.

    In Timișoara, the local sewage system was overrun.
    Additionally, 50 tons of waste clogged the water filtering station. Timișoara was
    under a code red alert against heavy rain, and all employees of the public
    water utility and filtering stations had troubles coping. The fire department
    also intervened in the wake on Sunday’s downpour in order to clear fallen trees
    and drain water from a number of households, yards and social and economic
    buildings in a nearby village. A RO-ALERT warning message was sent to the local
    population. The city of Reșița in Caraș-Severin County in the southwest was
    also affected by heavy rain. Firefighter teams responded to drain water from
    dozens of courtyards and basements. Due to uprooted trees and debris, rail
    traffic was disrupted. A train travelling from Timișoara to Reșița reported delays
    while another one was cancelled.

    In the northwestern county of Bihor, in the
    city of Oradea, the wind uprooted several trees, damaging nearby cars. A
    subterranean parking lot in a shopping center was flooded, in addition to a
    number of access roads. In a nearby village, firefighters evacuated a woman
    with walking disability who was stranded in her own home. Military firefighters
    intervened in another 10 emergency missions to drain water from flooded
    courtyards, cellars and garages. Rescuers used a number of electric pumps.
    Inhabitants of various settlements in Bihor also received RO-ALERT warning
    messages. Similar issues caused by the heavy rain were also signaled in Sibiu
    and Alba counties. In Alba, dozens of households and basements were flooded on
    Sunday evening in the wake of flash floods, while basements of residential
    buildings were also flooded in the cities of Alba-Iulia and Blaj as the local
    sewage systems were overrun. Early on Monday, rivers in Vâlcea and Gorj counties
    were also under a code orange alert for floods, which unfortunately overlapped
    with the code orange alert for heavy rain. (VP)



  • June 20, 2020

    June 20, 2020

    COVID-19 IN
    ROMANIA – The number of daily COVID infections continues to rise, exceeding
    300 new cases. Pressure on hospitals keeps mounting, as the number of sick who
    recover continues to drop. According to the latest update, 1.500 people died to
    the virus since the beginning of the outbreak. 23.730 infections have been
    confirmed in the country, while 16.735 people have recovered. 190 patients are
    in intensive care, nearly 1.330 people are in institutionalized quarantine and
    another 80.000 are in home isolation under medical observation. 3.531 Romanians
    living abroad have tested positive for SARS CoV2 and 115 have died.




    COVID-19 IN
    THE WORLD – The World Health Organization has warned that the COVID-19
    pandemic has entered a new and dangerous phase. WHO director, Tedros Adhanom
    Ghebreyessus has warned that the virus remains lethal, continuing to spread
    rapidly. According to the WHO official, the daily number of new cases has hit a
    record high globally, over 150.000, most of which are reported in North and
    South America, the Middle East and South Asia. Brazil has reported nearly
    55.000 new infections in only 24 hours, totaling over 1 million infections,
    making it the second-most affected country in the world, after the United
    States, Reuters informs. The virus has killed nearly 463.000 people around the
    world, infected 8.7 million people, of whom 4.6 million have recovered, the
    latest data published on the worldometers.info platform reveals.




    ONLINE FORM – Air
    passengers entering the country via Henri Coanda airport must file an online
    form stating their epidemiological status. Available as of Friday, the form is
    aimed at reducing waiting times and boosting the flow of arrivals, with the
    overall purpose of preventing the SARS CoV2 virus from spreading. The form can
    be accessed on bucharestairports.ro.


    REPATRIATIONS – The Foreign Ministry announced the repatriation of
    another 339 Romanian citizens from France and Great Britain on Thursday, as a
    result of a joint effort of the Transport and Interior Ministries. The people
    in question were affected by COVID measures and flight restrictions. The
    authorities also helped 19 French, 2 Canadian, 1 Tunisian and 1 American return
    to Romania. A number of British and French citizens were also returned to their
    home countries.




    BEACHES – Romania has four Blue Flag beaches, after last year only
    three beaches got this rating, commonly used to signal a number of high
    environmental and quality criteria necessary to obtain certification, such as
    water quality, cleanliness and safety. Neighboring Bulgaria got Blue Flag
    certification for 15 of its beaches this year. At global level, over 4.500 beaches
    got certified for 2020. Spain ranks 1, with 590 beaches, followed by Greece,
    Turkey, Italy and France.










    REACTION – The Foreign Ministry has dismissed the
    statements of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó as ungrounded and
    disrespectful, after the latter has labeled President Klaus Iohannis an
    extremist, anti-Hungarian politician in a Facebook post. The Hungarian official
    said the President’s decision to challenge the constitutionality of a law on
    opening a new crossing point on the Hungarian border goes against efforts to
    bring the two countries closer together. The Foreign Ministry says the
    President attacked the law because it violated the principle of separation of
    state powers, and never meant to take action against Hungary or the Hungarian
    minority in Romania. The Government already has an agreement in place with
    Hungary to open a new border crossing point, which is why the Foreign Ministry
    was surprised at the Hungarian official’s reaction, which it deems unjustified,
    disproportionate and out of context.




    WEATHER ALERTS – Meteorologists on Saturday have
    issued a code orange alert for three quarters of Romania, in place until Sunday
    morning, and a code yellow alert for the rest of the country. The weather will
    be unstable during the interval, with hail, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall
    expected to trigger massive floods in the target areas. A code red has been
    called for Caras-Severin, Timis, Mures and Harghita counties. The latest heavy
    rain has wrought havoc in scores of towns and villages, particularly in the southwest
    and center of the country, brigades of firefighters being called to pump water
    out of dozens of households.




    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • Storm alerts in Romania

    Storm alerts in Romania

    The entire country is under code yellow and orange
    alerts against storms. Meteorologists even issued code red alerts against heavy
    rain and hail for several towns and villages in the center, north and east of
    the country. The weather has been unstable in most of the country, with thunderstorms,
    strong wind and hail reported in isolated areas. Hydrologists too issued
    several yellow and orange alerts against floods for rivers in 20 counties.
    Several county and national roads in these regions were blocked due to
    landslides caused by heavy rain or trees uprooted by the wind. Blackouts were
    also reported in several towns and villages after electricity poles were taken
    out by the strong wind. In some areas the hail destroyed crops, especially
    private gardens, and some houses had their roofs blown off by the wind.

    Firefighters struggled to drain the water out of hundreds of flooded households
    and clear damaged vehicles and electricity lines off the roads. Considering the
    weather forecast for the immediate period, Emergency Situation Inspectorates
    announced their units remain on high alert to intervene in areas where new
    floods might occur. Moreover, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations
    is monitoring weather phenomena, standing by to deploy intervention units and
    gear from counties that aren’t affected by these phenomena. Meanwhile
    meteorologists say the weather will remain unstable across the country, with
    possible thunderstorms, heavy rain, windstorms and hail expected in isolated
    areas. According to the National Meteorological Administration, the capital
    city Bucharest will see heavy rain and snap thunderstorms and possibly
    windstorms and hail. The amount of rainfall is expected to exceed normal
    parameters over short periods of time. The Administration says the weather will
    remain unstable through most of next week as well.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)