The Effects of Flooding in Romania

The threat of extensive flooding turns into reality in Romania almost every year, especially at the beginning of spring.

For over a week now, the southern and central parts of Romania have been under code alerts for flooding and hydrologists say the threat is still high.

Towns and villages along the Danube run a high risk of being flooded, as the river is expected to exceed normal levels.

Hydrologists have issued a code orange alert for the area between the Iron Gates and Zimnicea, and a yellow code for the rest of the Danube area. The Minister Delegate for Waters, Forests and Fishery, Lucia Varga, says that the main cause for the flooding affecting Romania is uncontrolled deforestation and illegal woodcutting.

According to a report drawn up by the Court of Accounts, over 80 million cubic metres of wood were cut in Romania between 1990 and 2011, with the damage exceeding 5 billion euros. Minister Varga has also said that the Government plans to completely change the Flood Risk Management Strategy for short and medium-term.

Lucia Varga: “First of all we want to go to the roots of this situation, so we are changing the legal framework. We are currently working on the revision of the Forestry Code, which has been out for public debate for over a month. We are waiting for opinions from experts, citizens, employers’ associations and trade unions. We want to draw up a Forestry Code that would protect forests and toughen penalties for wood theft. We want to better manage small properties and encourage wood processing in Romania in order to create jobs.”

Also, according to Lucia Varga, the government wants that the public money earmarked for works on watercourses, to be spent wisely. There are currently 300 unfinished works, some of which started before 1989. Authorities have announced they will finance the completion of projects that are 80% ready.

Lucia Varga: “We have taken a decision for the medium term, namely, we will not just start working in areas facing critical situations such as high water levels. Strategic works on water basins and courses need to be carried out, starting with forestations, decreasing water level at the source, high up in the mountains, setting up basins and dams in order to keep the water in excess, as well as wet areas and dams to protect the citizens. I also want to say that, according to the flood risk management strategy we need 17 billion euros in order to ensure a high degree of protection for citizens, of up to 70% by 2020.”

We recall that over the past few days, severe flooding has affected over 150 localities, damaging 11000 hectares of farm and pasture land as well as numerous roads.