Radio România Internațional

Tag: thunderstorms

  • August 28, 2024 UPDATE

    August 28, 2024 UPDATE

    ELECTION The Government in Bucharest has set the calendar of the upcoming election in detail, including the technical measures and expenses for the preparation, organization and unfolding of the presidential election in Romania. So, November 24th 2024 will be seeing the first round of voting and, if needed, a second round will take place on December 8. October 5th is the deadline for submitting candidatures and election signs to the Central Election Office, while the election campaign kicks off on October 25th. In another development, the government has extended the National Programme for Local Development for another two years in order to support the over 3 thousand projects currently underway. Also on Wednesday, the Executive approved “The National Plan for a Safe School Environment” completing the measures focusing on fighting violence in the country’s education system. Discounts will be made available for therapy sessions for children victims of violence, or who were involved in such acts. The programme also includes training courses for teachers as well as an online library devoted to combating violence in schools. Under another bill endorsed in the education sector, students will be granted scholarships through state-funded cultural projects.

     

    OECD Romania on Wednesday received a positive review in the competition sector as part of its OECD accession process. According to Romania’s Competition Council, the review was issued after an assessment that took place between 2018 and 2022. During the review, the Council must demonstrate that its work meets the requirements of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Recommendations have also been made, and the stage of their implementation will be presented next year. Accession to the OECD is a priority for Romania, and is the country’s 3rd strategic goal after the NATO and EU accession.

     

    DEFICIT Romania’s budget deficit exceeds 4% of GDP after the first 7 months of the year, according to finance ministry data. In January – July, the government had total revenues of over EUR 66 bln, up 15% compared to the first 7 months of 2023. Budget expenditure however increased by over 23%, to more than EUR 80 bln. This year’s budget law is based on a 5% deficit level. Meanwhile, the minister for EU investments and projects Adrian Câciu has announced that Romania has so far received EUR23.84 bln under the cohesion policy in 2014-2020, reaching a 99.1% absorption rate.

     

    INDEPENDENCE The Republic of Moldova Tuesday celebrated 33 years since the proclamation of its independence from the former Soviet Union. Attending the ceremonies, the presidents of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia signed a joint statement of support for the country’s EU accession. In his message on this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis promised Romania will continue to provide strategic support to Moldova in all areas. In turn, PM Marcel Ciolacu reassured his Moldovan counterpart, Dorin Recean, that Romania will remain in the front line of the efforts to consolidate Moldova’s EU accession efforts, its stability and democratic development.

     

    WEATHER Thunderstorms were reported on Tuesday night in several parts of the country. Weather experts have issued scores of extreme weather warnings. In Iaşi, in the north-east, the wind brought several trees down and damaged vehicles, while entire streets in the city were flooded. Also in the north-east, in Botoşani County, firefighters were called to put out a fire after lightning struck a tree. Tens of streets and basements were also flooded in Cluj-Napoca (north-west).

    (bill)

     

  • August 28, 2024

    August 28, 2024

     

    ELECTIONS In its meeting today, the government of Romania is to set the calendar for the presidential election scheduled this autumn, on November 24 and December 8. The ballot will be held in parallel with the parliamentary election, which will be organized on December 1. The campaign for the parliamentary election begins on November 1 and ends on November 30, in the morning. In the country, polling stations will be open between 7 am and 9 pm, while Romanians living abroad will be able to vote between 7 am on November 30 and 9 pm on December 1. This is the first time that all the 4 types of elections (local, parliamentary, presidential, and the election for the European Parliament) are held in Romania in the same year.

     

    OECD Romania has today received a positive review in the competition sector as part of its OECD accession process. According to Romania’s Competition Council, the review was issued after an assessment that took place between 2018 and 2022. During the review, the Council had to demonstrate that its work meets the requirements of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Recommendations have also been made, and the stage of their implementation will be presented next year. Accession to the OECD is a priority for Romania, and is the country’s 3rd strategic goal after the NATO and EU accession.

     

    DEFICIT Romania’s budget deficit exceeds 4% of GDP after the first 7 months of the year, according to finance ministry data. In January – July, the government had total revenues of over EUR 66 bln, up 15% compared to the first 7 months of 2023. Budget expenditure however increased by over 23%, to more than EUR 80 bln. This year’s budget law is based on a 5% deficit level. Meanwhile, the minister for EU investments and projects Adrian Câciu announced that Romania has so far received EUR 23.84 bln under the cohesion policy in 2014-2020, reaching a 99.1% absorption rate.

     

    INDEPENDENCE The Republic of Moldova Tuesday celebrated 33 years since the proclamation of its independence from the former Soviet Union. Attending the ceremonies, the presidents of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia signed a joint statement of support for the country’s EU accession. In his message on this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis promised Romania will continue to provide strategic support to Moldova in all areas. In turn, PM Marcel Ciolacu reassured his Moldovan counterpart, Dorin Recean, that Romania will remain in the front line of the efforts to consolidate Moldova’s EU accession efforts, its stability and democratic development.

     

    WEATHER Thunderstorms were reported last night in several parts of the country. Weather experts have issued scores of extreme weather warnings. In Iaşi, in the north-east, the wind brought several trees down and damaged vehicles, while entire streets in the city were flooded. Also in the north-east, in Botoşani County, firefighters were called to put out a fire after lightning struck a tree. Tens of streets and basements were also flooded in Cluj-Napoca (north-west).

     

    PARALYMPICS Paris is hosting tonight the opening ceremony for the Summer Paralympic Games, which will end on September 8. From Champs-Elysées to the world-famed Place de la Concorde, hundreds of dancers and performers will stage a show called “Paradox”, which according to the organisers is designed to make people think about their uniqueness. Romania is represented by 6 athletes at this year’s Paralympic Games, in 3 events: para judo (Alexandru Bologa and Daniel Vargoczki), para cycling (Eduard Novak and Theodor Matican) şi para table tennis (Camelia Ciripan and Bobi Simion). The first to compete are Camelia Ciripan and Bobi Simion, on Thursday afternoon, in the mixed doubles event, against the Japanese pair Yuri Tomono and Koyo Iwabuchi. (AMP)

  • The Week in Review 10-16.06.2024

    The Week in Review 10-16.06.2024

    The outcome of the election for the local administration and the European Parliament in Romania

    The Social Democratic Party won with a significant majority the elections for the local administration and for the European Parliament held in Romania on June 9th. The Social-Democrats, known in Romania as PSD, won the battle for mayor offices, local and county councils and together with their liberal partner in the incumbent ruling coalition in Romania, has mustered roughly half of the MEP seats.  The PSD-PNL electoral alliance is followed at some distance by AUR and the United Right movement. One MEP mandate, out of the 33 Romania has been allotted, has been won by an independent. According to the Central Election Office, 19,870 polling stations were set up both in Romania and abroad and the turnout was slightly above 52% and the total number of votes stood at 9 million.

    915 polling stations were mounted abroad, where Romanians mainly voted for the PSD-PNL coalition, followed by the United Right, AUR and the SOS Romania Party.

    PSD ranked first in the election race for the mayor offices across the country, with 38% of the votes, followed by PNL and AUR. Independent candidate Nicusor Dan has been reelected for the position of mayor of Bucharest with almost half the votes. PSD got 35% in the local councils being followed by PNL, AUR and UDMR. In the meantime, the political parties started contouring their political strategies for the presidential election in September. PSD and PNL have announced they will each have a candidate in the upcoming election.

     

    Romania is backing the neighboring Ukraine

    Romania is supporting Ukraine, Romania is with NATO, Ukraine, and together with the other NATO allies as long as needed – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said while co-chairing the B9 summit in Latvia on Tuesday. Iohannis pointed out that for Romania it is important that the Alliance’s deterrence posture be a strong one with an all-out defence capability. The Romanians want to be defended and they are defended by NATO, Iohannis said. Furthermore, the Romanian side highlighted the need for supporting the neighbouring Republic of Moldova. Moldova is NATO’s partner mostly affected by the war in Ukraine, the president went on to say, emphasizing the Black Sea region as vital for the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic space. The efforts made by Romania and the allies for supporting Ukraine are staunch and will carry on as long as needed, Defence Minister Angel Tilvar said at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels on Thursday. Tilvar had a bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov, with whom he talked about the latest developments of the security situation in Ukraine and the Black Sea area. During the working meeting on assistance to Ukraine, the minister said that Bucharest’s efforts in supporting Kyiv had been recognized at the highest level.

    At the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Berlin on Tuesday, the head of the Romanian diplomacy, Luminiţa Odobescu, reiterated Romania’s commitment to getting actively involved in this process. The Romanian official reiterated the need for maintaining the international solidarity through concrete support actions for Ukraine. Odobescu also hailed Kyiv’s reform efforts under extremely difficult circumstances against the aggression war started by the Russian Federation. The minister also highlighted  Romania’s support for the official opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.

     

    Statistical data about Romania’s economy

    In the first four months of this year Romania had a trade deficit (imports minus exports) over 9.3 billion Euros, 440 million higher than in the similar period last year, data released by the National Institute for Statistics (INS) shows.

    In the aforementioned period exports stood at 31.3 billion Euros while imports at over 40.6 According to the INS, in the first quarter of the year exports and imports mainly consisted of machinery and transport equipment as well as other manufactured goods. The intra-EU trade exchanges stood at roughly 73% of the total exports and imports. As for the inflation, the annual rate of the index plummeted last month to the lowest level of the past three years – a little over 5.1% from 5.9% in April. According to the INS, some food products, such as bakery items, vegetables, potatoes, oil and butter, as well as energy and gas have become cheaper. Other products such as footwear, furniture or detergents as well as services, especially air transportation, have become more expensive. We recall that Romania’s Central Bank has revised up the inflation forecast for the end of this year to 4.9% from 4.7% and estimates that it would reach 3.5% in late 2025.

     

    Extreme weather in Romania

    Torrential rain, hail and thunderstorms caused significant damage in several counties in southern and western Romania on Friday night, where code red and orange alerts had been issued. Extreme weather alerts were also issued for Bucharest and Ilfov county. Several roads and motorways have been blocked by the trees broken by the gale-force winds which have also damaged roofs, buildings and vehicles. The bad weather has also disrupted traffic on the Henri Coanda airport in Bucharest, where several flights had to be redirected. Alert messages were issued advising people to remain indoors in order to avoid the thunderstorms and the gale-force winds.

    (bill)

     

  • Romania – between flooding and extreme heat

    Romania – between flooding and extreme heat

    Romania is these days
    seeing extreme weather conditions. While its eastern regions are being affected
    by heavy rains, its western part is under a heatwave with soaring temperatures of
    40 degrees centigrade. According to meteorologists, all the regions in Romania will
    this week be in for higher temperatures and humidity indexes, expected to make
    the heatwave more difficult to cope with.




    Romanians must also brace
    themselves for other extreme weather phenomena, such as gale-force winds and
    thunderstorms. Experts believe the torrential rains in the past days were
    created by the cyclone that formed in the Black Sea, a natural phenomenon,
    which initially seemed to have withdrawn, but eventually came back with renewed
    strength affecting the country’s eastern regions with a series of powerful
    thunderstorms and heavy downpours.




    The sky was mainly
    overcast in the country’s capital city, which is quite unusual for this time of
    the year. Yellow and orange alerts for heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and hail
    have been issued for the entire territory as well as flood warnings for almost
    all rivers in the country but those in the west and north-west.




    Roads and households have
    been affected by the latest flooding in several Romanian regions, where the
    authorities had to intervene. Scores of towns and villages across Romania are
    bearing the brunt of the latest extreme weather conditions, which have caused
    material and human loss. Nowcasting alerts have been issued in the past days in
    an attempt to prevent and diminish the effects of the extreme weather affecting
    this country.




    Meteorologists believe
    that extreme weather phenomena are to continue this week as well, mainly in the
    afternoons and evenings, when heavy downpours, thunderstorms and even hail are
    also expected. According to the latest weather forecasts, a heatwave is to hit
    the country on Thursday and Friday, when most of its regions are going to face
    higher discomfort indexes.




    Experts believe this
    summer Romania is going to see more extreme weather with unsettled skies, heavy
    downpours and powerful thunderstorms. Statistically speaking this June even stands
    chances to be among the months with the most significant amount of rainfalls in
    the past 50 years.




    There are clear signs
    that the weather, as we know it, is changing not only in our country but also
    in Europe. The French authorities have reported significant flooding in some
    regions whereas northern Germany has been affected by extremely hot
    temperatures.


    (bill)

  • 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)













  • Romania is in for more extreme weather

    Romania is in for more extreme weather

    Yellow, orange and red warnings for
    bad weather have been issued for some regions or even for the entire Romanian
    territory almost on a daily basis in recent weeks. On Tuesday alone, several yellow
    and orange warnings for unstable weather were issued for almost all of the
    country’s southern regions.






    In Galati, eastern Romania, a man lost
    his life in a thunderstorm. The bad weather has also caused material damage
    including in capital city Bucharest, where gale force winds knocked over trees,
    posts and billboards, blocking traffic and damaging vehicles.






    Several bridges have been destroyed
    by flooding in the country’s south. Rail traffic has also been disrupted by the
    heavy downpours which caused delays of up to 30 hours on some routes. Hundreds
    of households in eastern and south-eastern Romania were left without
    electricity on Tuesday night.






    Firefighters have been deployed to
    towns and villages in 13 counties across the country in an attempt to remove
    the bad weather effects. They took action to pump water out of scores of
    households, yards and basements. After these extreme phenomena, Romania is
    bracing up for a new heatwave with temperatures above 30 degrees centigrade and
    almost two weeks of muggy weather in almost all its territory.






    The heatwave is also affecting the whole
    continent. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has issued several travel alerts especially
    for Greece, currently facing a higher risk of forest fire, and for France,
    which is also bracing up for hot temperatures in most of its regions. Record
    highs of 39-40 degrees centigrade are to be witnessed in Germany and the
    heatwave is also expected to be felt in the north of the continent in countries
    like Sweden and Denmark.

    (translated by bill)





  • July 10, 2018 UPDATE

    July 10, 2018 UPDATE

    VISIT Currently on a working visit to Brussels Romanian Prime Minister
    Viorica Dancila on Tuesday held talks with the president of the European
    Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and with other EU officials. Dancila also met diplomats
    with Romania’s Representation to the EU during this visit, which was aimed at
    stepping up the Romanian government’s dialogue with the European institutions
    with a view to Romania’s taking over the EU rotating presidency on January 1st
    2019. The Romanian official also met the European Commissioner for regional
    policy Corina Cretu with whom she talked about the implementation of the
    cohesion policy in Romania. Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dancila met Gunther
    Oettinger, the European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources. The
    Romanian official presented the main objectives Romania is to assume during its
    mandate concerning a series of major European files, including the 2021-2027
    multi annual financial framework, a priority of Commissioner Oettinger’s
    portfolio. The Romanian Prime Minister had earlier met the European
    Commissioner for Agriculture and rural Development Phil Hogan.










    HANDBALL The Romanian women’s national handball side on Tuesday qualified for
    the quarter-finals of the World’s Junior Championships in Hungary after a 28-25
    win against Croatia. Sorina Tirca was the best Romanian player with 8 goals
    scored during the game. On Wednesday the Romanians will be playing the winner
    of the game pitching Hungary against Slovenia. We recall that our athletes
    clinched this title two times, in 1995 and 1999.










    WEATHER The weather remains unsettled in Romania in the next 24 hours.
    Showers and thunderstorms are still expected in the country’s mountainous areas
    and in the north-east, but the amount of water will be insignificant this time.
    Temperatures are expected to slightly rise as compared to the previous days
    ranging between 23 and 31 degrees Celsius. Firefighters, gendarme and police
    troops are still involved in various operations aimed at eliminating the
    effects of the heavy downpours that have affected scores of towns and villages
    across Romania.










    BALANCE Romania’s trade balance deficit
    increased by more than 12% in the first 5 months of 2018 as compared to the
    same period last year, which amounts to more than 5 billion Euros, the National
    Institute for Statistics says. Exports stood at 28 billion Euros and imports at
    33 billion Euros. In the imports- exports structure, high percentages were
    reported in the machines industry, transport equipment and manufactured
    products industries.


    (translated by bill)

  • The effects of rain showers and storms

    The effects of rain showers and storms

    Antarctica is heading for disaster at high speed. This is the conclusion of an international expert team that has conducted a study whose worrying results have been made public recently. The document is launching an alarm signal as to the future of planet Earth. According to the scientists, the white continent situated at the South Pole has lost some three trillions tons of ice since 1992, which is enough to raise the level of oceans by some eight millimetres, and this tendency has increased dramatically over the past five years. Furthermore, if the phenomenon is not contained in due time, hundreds of millions of people leaving in low coastal areas are in danger. This is not the only effect produced by global warming, unfortunately considered to be a futile issue even by some top-level decision-makers.



    To the Romanians, Antarctica is geographically situated at the far end of the globe, and alarming information coming from there fades away, in keeping with the distance which separates the two areas. However, when the Romanians are facing extreme weather phenomena, atypical for Romania’s temperature continental climate, they become increasingly aware of the situation and start asking questions on the dangers looming ahead. For some time now, spring and autumn are almost non-existent, summers are unusually hot, in winter snow has almost vanished in some regions of the country and tornadoes have also been spotted in Romania.



    Right now, against the backdrop of temperatures exceeding normal values for this time of the year, Romania is facing extreme weather phenomena, such as rainfalls, thunderstorms, gusty wind and hailstorms. Heavy rainfalls and gusty wind have severely affected several regions of the country. Basements, cellars, streets and parking lots in several towns have been submerged. Tens of trees have fallen on cars and electricity lines, roofs have been swept away by the wind and many fires have been started by lightning strikes. Many households in the countryside have been flooded. Electricity has also been disrupted in places. In the field, hailstorms have destroyed maize, wheat and sunflower cultures on hectares. Egg-sized hail has produced extensive damage in several towns and communes in the west of the territory, where roofs and cars have been severely affected. Heavy railroad traffic was reported in places.



    Code red, orange and yellow alerts have been issued for hydrographical basins in almost three quarters of the country. The Interior Ministry has announced that over 3,300 firelighters have been mobilised to intervene in the affected areas. In brief, the weather picture is not one of the best at the moment, with fickle weather still gripping the whole country until Saturday.


  • Extreme weather phenomena in Romania

    Extreme weather phenomena in Romania

    Over the past few days, the west, south and south-east of Romania have been subject to a code yellow extreme heat alert. Temperatures reached as much as 38 degrees Celsius, with high thermal discomfort. On the other hand, the hill and mountain areas, as well as the north-eastern part of the country, have been affected by severe instability, especially in the afternoon and at night.



    Heavy storms were reported on Sunday in several parts of the country. At least one person died and several others were injured after strong winds brought down trees at a camping site in Bulz, Bihor County, in the north-west. Scores of military firefighters took part in searches for the victims and 11 emergency response teams were sent to the site. The code red intervention plan was active for several hours. Heavy rainfalls brought boulders, tree trunks and branches, and mud down to several national roads in the south-east and the centre of the country, where road traffic was suspended for several hours.



    As of Tuesday, considerable instability is again expected in the mountains. Teodora Cumpanasu, of the National Meteorology Agency, gave us more details:



    Teodora Cumpanasu: “Tuesday brings a substantial change in the weather and temperatures in many parts of the country, in the sense that temperatures will go down significantly, particularly in the west, where the reading will not go beyond 24-25 degrees Celsius on Tuesday afternoon. The weather remains very hot only in the south-east, including in the capital city, with temperatures perhaps reaching 35-36 degrees in Baragan and the Danube plains. This part of the country will also be, for the time being, safe from atmospheric instability, because in the rest of the regions we expect extensive rainfalls, thunderstorms, strong wind, and in some areas even hailstorms and heavy rain, above 20-25 litres per square metre.



    For the coming period, weather experts announce draught in most of the country. The Danube flow is nearly half the multiannual average for mid-July, and the trend is likely to stay in place in the coming days as well, reads a forecast issued by the National Hydrology Institute. Experts warn however that water flow increases may be reported in the next few days, for some small rivers in the north, west and centre of the country, as a result of the rainfalls expected this week.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Storms and Heat Waves in Romania

    Storms and Heat Waves in Romania

    For a few days now, extreme heat has been the norm in Europe. In France, average temperatures have surpassed the record set in 1945, prompting the authorities to pay close attention to the elderly and the homeless. In the center of Portugal, tens of thousands of firefighters have been mobilized to extinguish forest fires that have made numerous victims.



    In Spain, the situation is worrying because of the drought, since as early as ten days ago water reserves are at 53% of storage capacity, way below the average in the last five years. An extreme heat alert has been issued in Belgium, Switzerland and Italy. Even in Great Britain, where, by definition, temperatures are clement, there have been record air temperature readings: in London, the 33.9 degrees Celsius recently read on thermometers were above those recorded in June 1976. Romania is no exception.



    A heat wave will hit the country in the next few days. A code yellow alert for high heat is in effect starting Wednesday for 12 counties in the west, south and center, with maximum expected temperatures between 33 and 36 degrees Celsius. Starting Thursday, the code yellow alert expands almost all over the country, and also starting Thursday, five counties in the south and southwest are under code orange alert, with maximums expected to hit 40 degrees.



    We spoke to Oana Catrina, of the National Meteorology Association: “Starting Thursday, it will grow increasingly warmer in the capital. Sweltering heat will set in. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, maximum temperatures will sway towards 36-37 degrees, possibly 38 degrees in the center of the city.”



    Just as it did last year, Bucharest City Hall announced it would install around 20 cooling tents, with medical staff, air conditioning, water and medication. The heat wave comes after a number of storms hitting various areas of Romania, with torrential rains and severe winds, causing widespread damage. Houses were left without roofs and trees were uprooted, causing power-outs. Crops were destroyed, and road traffic was disrupted.

  • Extreme temperatures in Romania

    Extreme temperatures in Romania

    Tropical temperatures have been affecting these days several regions in Romania. The most serious situation is reported in eastern Romania, where several people died due to the high temperatures. The fact that they ventured out, in the extreme heat, without any form of sun protection, was the main reason for their death. The emergency services were called, but they could not save the victims.



    People have been warned that sun protection measures are vital, such as avoiding prolonged exposure to the sun and hydration. In their turn, the Sanitary Veterinary Authority and also the Food Safety Authority have both warned over the increased risk of food alteration and the incidence of food poisoning. In some Romanian cities, local authorities have taken a series of anti-heat measures and also special measures in schools, where exams are under way. First aid tents, equipped with air conditioning and where water is freely available, have also been set up. In the capital Bucharest, where extreme temperatures have been reported as well over the past few days, emergency services reported a big number of cases of high blood pressure, heart and mental problems.



    Meteorologists have warned that temperature may hit all-time highs on more than one occasion and that the heat waves are expected to be more frequent and more intense throughout the summer and even in September. Worth mentioning is that the highest temperature ever reported in Romania stood at 44.5 degrees Celsius, recorded in the Ramnicelu village in Braila County on August 10, 1951.



    For over three weeks, Romania has been seeing unusual weather, such as tropical heat, heavy rain, thunder storms and flood flows that swept through several regions. The latter killed several people and destroyed thousands of hectares of farmland, leaving dozens of areas without electricity. In Jiu Valley in the southwest and Piatra Neamt in the northeast, hail storms damaged hundreds of cars. Numerous families were forced to leave their homes. Authorities have recently announced that people who suffered damages because of the extreme weather will be compensated.


    (Translated by E. Enache)

  • Disastrous Floods in Romania

    Disastrous Floods in Romania

    For more than two weeks now, Romania has been facing extreme weather phenomena: heavy rainfalls, floods, thunderstorms, flash floods, hailstorms and extreme heat. The bad weather caused substantial material damages and even left behind casualties.



    The loss of human lives in the wake of these extreme weather conditions is regrettable, PM Dacian Ciolos said on Tuesday during a conference call with the prefects around the country. He asked the local authorities to come up with an assessment of the damages, so as to be able to assist the victims, as well as with forecasts for the coming period, in order for adequate measures to be taken and future damages to be avoided. As the head of government put it, “such extreme weather phenomena, with a major impact on some towns and villages, have occurred for several weeks now in various parts of the country, and we requested an analysis of the current situation where damages have been reported and the forecasts for the ensuing period.



    The most recent episode was reported late last week, when 12 counties in the north, north-west, centre and south-west of the country were subject to a code-yellow alert for heavy rainfalls and thunderstorms. Also, in 11 counties in the east, west and south-west a code-orange flood warning was in place.



    According to a report issued by the Interior Ministry, around 2,000 police, gendarme and fire-fighters worked over the past few days to assist the people in the regions affected by these problems. The strong wind destroyed the roofs of hundreds of houses and left tens of villages without electricity. In other areas, hundreds of households, streets and roads were flooded. In the north-eastern county of Suceava tens of tourists found themselves stranded in guesthouses after a flash flood. The intervention of military fire-fighters was necessary in order to rescue them and the locals. In yet other parts of the country, hailstorms destroyed the roofs of hundreds of homes and thousands of hectares of farm land. In the Jiu Valley area in the south-west, hailstones the size of chicken eggs caused substantial damage.



    Meanwhile, whereas the northern and western part of the country struggles with thunderstorms, downpours and floods, the centre, south and east of Romania is facing extreme heat and severe thermal discomfort.