site.btaFlood Claims Five Lives in Romania

The flood in Eastern Romania took five victims, BTA learned from a press release of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations on Sunday. Previous reports said four had lost their lives.

According to the latest data from Romania's Ministry of Interior, in the last 24 hours 28 settlements from 7 districts have been affected by the floods, caused by the heavy rains and storms due to the cyclone Boris that swept across Europe. 303 people have been evacuated. Some 5,890 households and over 15,000 people have been affected to varying degrees by the natural disaster.

Interior Ministry officials have started assessing the damage. They are stockpiling food and water to be distributed to the victims.

Teams from the Emergency Inspectorate in Braila have set up a tent camp in one of the worst affected areas, Slobozia Conachi. It is equipped with 200 beds and sleeping bags, heating, showers and two mobile kitchens to meet the basic needs of the affected people. Over 400 firefighters continue to assist on site. 

"The situation is dramatic. After an on-site inspection, we identified the real problem that was keeping the water level high. There was a breach in the Suku stream embankment. Measures have been taken and the water level has now dropped," said Senate President Nicolae Ciuca, who accompanied Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on his visit to the disaster-hit region. The Interior and Environment Ministers were also on site.

For his part, the Prime Minister said that the army was ready to intervene as soon as the water level dropped sufficiently.

"Things are starting to get back to normal. The army is prepared with specialised vehicles to arrive as soon as the water recedes. Everything is under control," the Prime Minister underscored.

More than 11,000 houses have no electricity at the moment. Several national roads remain closed; train traffic in the disaster area is also disrupted.