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Waters not withdrawing from Dolj houses
Nedeia dike resists blasts
published in issue 3672 page 5 at 2006-05-05
Blast expert created yesterday morning the fifth breach in the Nedeia dike, Dolj County, in the hope that the waters accumulated in the areas of Plosca, Macesu de Jos, Carna and Sapata will withdraw. The blast follows that on Wednesday evening, which had no visible impact on the Nedeia dike. Villagers say that all the breaches were made in the higher portions of the dike, which is the reason why the water won't go back to the riverbed of the Danube. Over the past three days, more than 1,400 people have been evacuated from Macesu de Jos. Most of them went to live with their relatives. One hundred of the residents took lodgings at the cultural house in Macesu de Sus, and a further 100 in the nearby camp. Villagers return to their homes from time to time to take more of their belongings and fowl.
They believe the sites chosen for the blasts were wrong, as the water would have flown faster back into the riverbed if the dike had been penetrated in the lower portions. Moreover, people say that all the four breaches are too narrow, as their width only comes to a total of 110 meters.
Oltenita defended by a single dike
Having worked for nearly 24 hours, local authorities, military troops and the gendarmes were to complete during yesterday the works at the Ulmeni dike, Calarasi County.
The new defence dike was erected between Tatina and Oltenita. Five hundred gendarmes, military, locals and workers at some private enterprises in Oltenita give a helping hand to consolidate the dike. However, authorities say the city of Oltenita is not in danger of being flooded for now given the nearly six kilometers between the breached dike and the city, and the area being protected by two more dikes.
Danube flow on the decline
The flow of the Danube is decreasing almost throughout its course. The first segment, between Gruia and Bechet, is not held trouble-free. The water dropped between 6 and 9 centimetres at Oltina, which is located between Zimnicea and Calarasi. Upstream, between Gruia and Calarasi, the Danube fell by up to 11 centimeters. Hydrologists say that the Danube will continue its down-trend in the upcoming days.
Scheele: Romania's strategy against flooding is obsolete
The head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Romania, Jonathan Scheele, stated yesterday, in Craiova, that Romania's strategy against flooding was obsolete and added that the victims of the calamities would be assisted.
"We are interested about what's going on in Romania because it is a future member state of the EU. The EU Solidarity Fund was accessed after the flooding last year. We shall support the rebuilding of the infrastructure and of the damaged sites through the programmes that we have available: ISPA, PHARE and SAPARD. On a longer term, we shall support the development of a new strategy of fight against flooding with money and with technical assistance. We'll stand by the Romanians, Bulgarians, Czechs and Hungarians", said Scheele. The European official said that the strategy Romania had against flooding was obsolete.
by Simona Popescu
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