More than 1,500 hectares of crops, fields and forests in some villages in the Oltenia region in Southern Romania have been flooded by the Danube which reached some of its highest levels in the last years due to heavy rains upstream.

Among the affected villages are Bechet, Piscu Vechi, Desa and Cetate, according to the Romanian Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU), Agerpress newswire reports.

Official measurements show that the Danube’s water flow for the section where the river enters Romania grew to 13,000 cubic meters per second on Monday, May 20, compared to an average of 7,250 cubic meters per second for the month of May.

For the period May 22-25 the discharge could rise even higher, to 13,500 cubic meters per second, after which it will start to decrease, according to official estimates.

editor@romania-insider.com