Disaster on the Danube by Helen McKenzie
A state of emergency has been declared for all countries on the banks of the river Danube. People have been forced to flee their homes in Serbia and Romania, with Bulgarian cities swamped under the deluge. 5000 hectares (19.3 square miles) of farmland have already been flooded, with worse to come.
The reason for the floods is a combination of high rainfall amounts, and snow melt from central Europe.
The Danube has risen to it’s highest level in decades. In Vidin, the river is currently just 2 cm below critical overflow levels, and is expected to exceed 960 cm (31.5 ft) on Thursday, beating the 1942 record. As a result, patients have been evacuated from the first floor of Vidin’s City Hospital.
In the port of Lom, round the clock work has been going on to construct a new dike to hold back the river. Water levels are at a 35 year record high of 910 cm (29.9 ft). Lom harbour is already submerged, and further water is expected to flood the city centre.
With the river’s flow at an estimated 15000 cubic metres per second (530,000 cubic feet per second), boats have been given speed restrictions, in order to reduce waves.
The region is still recovering from the record floods of last summer. The Danube is expected to peak at around 990 cm (32.5 ft) next Wednesday.
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