Hydrologists have issued on Wednesday a Red Code for floods on the rivers in Satu Mare, Salaj and Maramures, valid until Wednesday afternoon.
Hundreds of homes and hectares with crops have been flooded and destroyed, while people have been evacuated during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, following heavy rain. Flash floods hit in the morning three counties: Salaj, Satu-Mare and Maramures (north-western Romania), digi24.ro reports.
According to the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (INHGA) as a result of rainfall recorded in the last hours of the forecast and propagation, significant leakages can take place on the slopes, torrents, rivers flood with possible local effects and rapid flow increases and possible overruns of the levels of risk in river basins Maja, Salaj and Satu Mare and B?rs?u, Maramures County.
The National Meteorology Administration also issued on Wednesday morning, an orange code warning of heavy rainfall in Salaj, Satu Mare and Maramures. In the concerned area, in the last hours were recorded amounts of water that exceeded 50 l / square metre up to 70 l / sq m, ANM informs.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Wednesday at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest that Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea informed him about the measures taken to clean up after recent floods in northern Romania, assuring that the Government will summon up all the necessary resources for repairing and for containing damage to less than so far.
“As far as our utmost urgency is concerned right now, I spoke earlier with [Interior Minister] Oprea about the situation in northern Romania and he informed me about all the measures taken to clean up after the floods and step in with all that is available; he will further inform me at the Government’s meeting,” Ponta said after meeting Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Valeriu Zgonea and visiting chair of the National Assembly of Serbia Maja Gojkovic.
He also gave assurances that all measures will be taken to contain damage in the affected areas.
“I want to assure you that under the coordination of Mr Oprea, the Interior Ministry and the Emergency Department, we are summoning up all the necessary resources to repair what is in need of repairing and to contain the damage to less of what has happened so far,” said Ponta.
Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea has ordered prefects and heads of emergency bodies in the counties under code red or code yellow flood advisories to be at the scene in order to provide assistance to the population.