Romania sets aside EUR 20 mln in first aid package to tackle floods’ impact

The Romanian Government disbursed RON 100 million (EUR 20 million) to help the thousands of households who saw their homes severely damaged, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on September 16 as the eastern part of the country was still recovering after a couple of days of severe rainfalls.

An immediate aid of RON 10,000 (EUR 2,000) per household hit by the flood will be distributed.

The local authorities in Galati county requested a state of alert because approximately 6,000 households in 26 localities, as well as several roads, have been impacted by the floods. The county was the worst hit by the floods.

The death toll reached seven as the rescue teams found more bodies.

PM Ciolacu announced, in the Government meeting on September 16, that the procedures were underway for the Ministry of Administration and Interior to enforce a state of alert in the two counties ravaged by the floods, Galati and Vaslui. The authorities will thus have more freedom to intervene and use existing resources, he explained.

The Government deployed four modular buildings from the State Reserves to serve as school classes in the villages where the schools were damaged until the situation returned to normal.

As the rain stopped on Monday (September 16) after a couple of days of heavy rainfalls, the Army and Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU) intervened to help the population restore the water and electricity supply by rebuilding the electricity lines damaged and cleaning the water wells.

However, 2,232 homes were still without electricity in the region hit by the floods towards the end of the day, energy minister Sebastian Burduja announced. He later said that all the homes were connected to the grid.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / George Călin)