Danube floods again threaten Romania

ROMANIA - The surging waters of the Danube lapped at Romanian doorsteps today as troops and volunteers built sandbag embankments and residents fled their villages.

Thousands anxiously watched the swelling Danube from hilltop tents throughout the nation's hardest-hit area, south-central Romania's flood-swamped Calarasi country.

"Water is in our yard. What can we do? We have nowhere to go," said Getuta Paciarca, a 37-year-old from the village of Manastire.

Almost 16,000 people have been forced to evacuate from about 148 communities in Romania, the Interior Ministry said. Areas in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Austria also have seen massive flooding.

In Spantov, 62 miles southeast of Bucharest, residents fled surging flood waters for a tent community of about 300 people, where sheep mingled with braying donkeys, children cried and adults rested in the sun.

President Traian Basescu visited evacuees Thursday in Calarasi, where more than 3,000 displaced people are living in army tents.

"We thank God because we were able to flee," said Ioana Vasile, 57. "We could have died in the waters."

In Manastire, troops frantically piled sandbags on the main road and continued to evacuate hundreds of residents.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life," said Alexandru Tiganila, a 47-year-old welder. "If it floods, hundreds of houses will be under water here."

In the community of Chiselet, some homes lay in ruins after the Danube washed over them, while dozens of other homes were abandoned after being inundated. Some residents moved into makeshift shelters made from plastic sheets, while others crammed into army tents.

Maria Forlica, 71, burst into tears as she arrived from a nearby town with food at her sister's home, now a mass of rubble.

"Oh my boy, what has become of the house," she wept, as her great-nephew played among the ruins.

The situation is similar along the length of Romania's southern border, where the Danube -- Europe's second-largest river -- has reached record levels in past weeks due to melting snow and heavy rains.

The ministry said 3800 members of the police force, army, emergency services and other departments were working on flood relief, using helicopters and boats to move residents, and tractors and water pumps to clear inundated areas.

Authorities said they were taking measures to prevent the spread of disease. Disinfectant has been sprayed over some areas, according to TV reports. Ambulances were dispatched to vaccinate flood victims against typhoid fever and other waterborne diseases.

Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu has blamed the flooding on Romania's system of dikes; built under communism in the 1960s and 1970s to reclaim land for agriculture. With too many dikes along the river, recent heavy rainfall and melted snow has had nowhere to go and many have cracked or crumbled. The Danube has been flowing at double its normal volume for more than a week.

There have been no confirmed reports of deaths from the recent flooding and no official estimates on damage. Last year, flash floods on other rivers killed 74 people and caused over US$1.8 billion ($2.87 billion) in damage.

- AP