Authorities in eastern Romania beef up anti-flood measures

Authorities in eastern Romania have made medium and long-term plans to stop flooding from wreaking havoc after flooding in Galați county last month left seven people dead and around 7,000 homes water damaged.

The devastation was so significant that hundreds of people are still working in the affected communities trying to clear away mud and refuse and help people to rebuild their homes so they can move back in before winter.

“We need to think about three very important things. One, the relocation of houses that are on the riverbed. A second thing is to repair what the waters have damaged, because there are over 130 km of riverbeds alone that are clogged,” explained president of the Galați County Council, Costel Fotea.

“We need to repair the dams that have broken, we need to build dams to hold back the water so that we can release it into a regularised system.”

Local authorities put the total cost for repairs in the county at around €150 million and say the region could be faced with a similar price tag every time there is torrential rain.

Many in the region are already nervous as Romanian meteorologists have already said that similar deluges are likely in the future. And some locals are fed up.

They want firm action and clear solutions from the authorities. For some in Galați, this is not the first time they have had to rebuild their homes after flooding in the region.

“Something must be done to stop the water from coming, this is the third time. It wasn’t easy for us, we can’t get out of here, but it wasn’t, really, this flood was the worst,” said Anton Dinu.

The damage in Galați county was widespread. In addition to the thousands of homes, roads need to be rebuilt and vast swathes of agricultural land remains waterlogged.

Local authorities say at least 80% of residents in the eastern county have been forced to move.