Extreme weather engulfs Romania, with flood alerts for key rivers persisting until afternoon amid a ferocious cold wave and snowfall that’s thrown life into disarray. The warnings signal potential overflows beyond safe limits by 3 PM local time.
Prahova’s Teleajen and Vrancea’s Milcov river basins carry orange alerts to noon, denoting elevated dangers, joined by yellow warnings on eastern Barlad sections. Hydrological classifications clarify the scale: yellow for looming threats, orange for severe hazards, red for catastrophe.
In response, officials blasted alert texts to imperiled zones. Prahova firefighters mopped up floodwaters from yards at various spots, averting home damage.
Buzau saw drama as Niscov River rises flooded the access road to Mireea, cutting off 12 villagers from four families. Emergency services report all accounted for and provisioned adequately.
Echoing earlier alerts, the meteorological administration’s code yellow for harsh frost covered 28 counties plus Bucharest from Monday morning to Tuesday, impacting the majority of the nation.
Initial snowstorms coated Bucharest and southern belts, spawning slick roads ripe for accidents. Maintenance squads battled nonstop to restore safe passage.
Anticipated early February freeze materialized, with mountain gaps hitting -15°C nights and northeast days frozen below zero. Low areas eye rain; mountaintops above 1500m hail and snow from cold snaps.
Cold fronts from the north have prevailed, logging -7 to -10°C daytime in Moldova. The agency projects month-long snow and hybrid rains in northern, mid, and eastern territories.
As Romania hunkers down, focus sharpens on infrastructure strains and public safety amid this unrelenting meteorological onslaught.