Cyclone Boris plays havoc in Galati, Romania. Floods kill six, affect thousands of households

Cyclone Boris caused the first victims in Romania, after a major flood hit Galați county. More than 5,000 households in 12 towns were affected, six people died and another 252 were evacuated.

Firefighters from several counties were dispatched to rescue people fleeing on rooftops as the water rose to a height of 1.7 meters. The government has decided to allocate money from the emergency fund to repair roads and houses destroyed by floods. At this moment, Romania is being hit by Cyclone Boris. Torrential rains, temperatures dropping by more than 10 degrees Celsius and even snow in the mountains are expected.

Residents affected by the floods will receive emergency aid from the Government. The Prime Minister ordered the National Administration of State Reserves and Social Problems to urgently release aid for the people affected by the floods. The population will receive water and food (canned meat, vegetables, pâté, jam, sugar and cheese) for a period of 7 days. They will also receive 50 modular homes, 12 toilets, beds and bedding, sleeping bags and everything needed for temporary accommodation.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and Minister of the Interior Cătălin Predoiu went to the areas affected by the floods.

President Klaus Iohannis sent his condolences to the families of the victims of the worst floods in the last 15 years in Galați County. “In these difficult moments, the central and local authorities together with the rescue teams have mobilized all available resources to intervene quickly and effectively. I am in permanent contact with those responsible for coordinating interventions to ensure that victims receive the necessary assistance, shelter, food and medical care as quickly as possible. Rescue and damage assessment operations must continue in the most affected areas until the situation is under control and people’s lives are no longer in danger. In the medium and long term, we need to support the reconstruction of the affected communities and take additional measures to adapt the infrastructure to floods and floods,” says Iohannis in a statement.

US Ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec has also extended her condolences to the victims’ families. “I would like to express my deep condolences to the families and communities of the victims of the recent floods in Galati and Vaslui.  We stand in solidarity with all those affected by this natural disaster”, said the American ambassador in her speech during the CPC Partnership Signing Ceremony today.

Hydrologists have issued a red flood code for rivers in Galati and Vaslui counties

“As a result of the precipitation recorded in the last hours, of the forecast and the propagation, important leaks may occur on slopes, torrents, streams, rapid floods on small rivers with possible severe effects of local flooding and important increases in flows and levels with possible overflows of the DANGER QUOTES on the rivers in the hydrographic basins: Siret – the left tributaries related to the downstream sector S.H. Lungoci (Galați county), Prut – the tributaries related to the downstream sector confluence with the Elan river (Galați and Vaslui counties)”, the warning states.

New Code red for rains in Vaslui

Meteorologists have issued a new nowcasting red rain code warning for Vaslui county. Until 2:00 p.m., there will be showers, and due to accumulation, the amounts of water will exceed 25…30 l/m2. In the warned area, quantities of over 60 l/m2 have accumulated in the last hours. The targeted areas are, in Vaslui county: Zorleni, Murgeni, Fălciu, Banca, Rosiești, Epureni, Albești, Costești, Bogdănești, Șuletea, Vutcani, Găgești, Viișoara, Dodești, Fruntișeni.

Overall, five red code rain warnings were issued in one night for Galati County, the worst affected by Cyclone Boris. Amounts of water accumulated up to 150 liters per square meter, that is, three times more than the average of September, Elena Mateescu, general director of ANM said.

19 localities from Argeş, Bacău, Buzău, Galati, Hunedoara, Neamţ, Vâlcea and Vrancea counties were also affected by the heavy rains. Galati County is the most affected, announces the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations.

Galati County was by far the most affected. Localities affected by floods and floods include Pechea, Costache Negri, Slobozia Conachi, Cuza Vodă, Tudor Vladimirescu, Corni, Băneasa, Suceveni, Vârlezi, Cudalbi, Bereşti Meria and Mândreşti. In the town of Cudalbi, the situation is particularly serious, the water reaching a height of approximately 1.5 meters.

The big cities in the area of ​​Moldova and Muntenia were also affected by the rains during the night.

In Bacău, the images filmed by the locals show cars stuck on the city’s boulevards, flooded by the large amounts of rain that fell in a short period of time. The sewage system could no longer cope. Incidentally, during the night, meteorologists issued several nowcasting warnings of code red for rain. People also received RO-Alert messages advising them to stay indoors and protect themselves.

The bad weather has already caused problems in Pitesti, where there was a break in the clouds last night. Torrential rain flooded several streets in the city, and strong winds knocked down trees. At least one car was damaged, and residents received RO-Alert messages to take shelter. The alert was given shortly after 9 p.m., and the storm lasted for more than an hour. Streets and boulevards in several neighborhoods were flooded because the sewage could no longer cope.