Battle to save city as Danube floods

EMERGENCY CREWS in Romania are battling to save the 300,000-strong city of Galati from inundation as the Danube river approaches record heights, amid devastating floods that have killed at least 23 people.

More than 18,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and vast swathes of farmland and roads and rail lines have been badly damaged in the floods, which have struck Romania as the cash-strapped government seeks to slash spending and revive an ailing economy.

Thousands of workers, including many police, soldiers and volunteers, are now reinforcing dykes and flood protection barriers in the major river port of Galati, where the Danube is expected to rise to its highest recorded level in the coming days.

The government has ordered the construction of an emergency 4.5km-long dam along the banks of the river, and a second barrier of metals panels in case the first dam fails.

“Galati is prepared for the worst,” Romanian president Traian Basescu said during a visit to the city. “To see Galati flooded would be a shame for all of us. It would mean the authorities are powerless.”

France, Austria, Belgium, Estonia have all offered aid to Romania to help it cope with the floods, including inflatable dams, pumps, power generators and water purification systems. Officials say they plan to ask the EU for financial support after the disaster which is believed to have caused damage amounting to more than 0.6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Many Romanians – already angered by government plans to slash state pay and benefits – have criticised the authorities for doing too little to prepare for flooding and for reacting too slowly.

Upstream from Galati, in the village of IC Bratianu, people criticised the local administration’s inaction and said they had been left to fend for themselves.

“I took some days off from work in order to protect my house. We have to do something if we want to avoid being left only with pictures of our homes after the flood,” a man told one news agency.

“We did not have any bags to put sand in, we did not have any tools to make the dam higher so we had to collect money to get all this done. Only then did the mayor start doing something,” another local man added.