Update: The death toll in the Romanian county of Galaţi rose to 7 following the floods caused by storm Boris after another person was found deceased on Monday, September 16, in the village of Griviţa.

Romania is the country with the highest number of victims caused by the storms, ahead of Poland, which also revised its death toll from 4 to 5 victims. In the entire region, at least 16 people died as a result of the floods. Casualties were also recorded in Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland.Budapest said it would close roads near the river Danube which runs through the Hungarian capital, citing the risk of flooding later this week, according to the BBC.

Initial story: The storm Boris, which caused temperatures in the central and eastern European region to plummet and floods to take place, has led to severe damages and the death of six people in Romania's Galați County. Two people are still missing.

Hundreds lost their homes after floods hit particularly rural areas in several counties in eastern Romania starting Saturday, September 14. Several counties south of the Carpathian Mountains (Hunedoara, Valcea, Arges) were also impacted. 

The situation was gradually brought under control during Sunday, September 15, as the government sent the Ministry of Interior to organize rescue missions and camps for those left with no home.

There is still a red flood warning on Monday for the rivers in the counties of Galați, Vaslui, and Iași until 12:00 PM. The Moldova region is also under an orange and a yellow flood warning. The yellow warning includes rivers in Banat, southern Crișana, parts of eastern Transylvania, and Dobrogea, according to Rador.

According to ISU Galați, the areas most affected by the floods are the villages of Pechea, Cudalbi, Costache Negri, Slobozia Conachi, and Cuza Vodă, where residents have requested water to be pumped out from their yards. Several people were trapped in their homes due to the water and debris brought by the floods, and there were also requests for hospital transportation due to various medical conditions. 

"Approximately 260 military firefighters are intervening with 15 fire trucks, trucks, and 24 water pumps. Using these resources, 273 people have been rescued from the affected households," authorities informed. Additional emergency forces have been sent to Galați from the Inspectorates for Emergency Situations in Brăila, Bucharest-Ilfov, Vrancea, Dâmbovița, Gorj, Brașov, and Teleorman.

Only a couple of months before the presidential and parliamentary elections, the ruling coalition's leaders are highly active in tackling the crisis. The government will allocate funds from its reserves "to help restore the houses and lives affected by the floods," announced minister of finance Marcel Bolos.

Galati County and Vaslui County, to some extent, were particularly hit by the floods. There are areas where rainfall of 170 liters per square meter, the amount expected for three typical months, was registered in only 12 hours.

The water, therefore, reached 1-1.5 m in some villages, where thousands of homes (5,500-6,000 according to an approximate estimate) were severely damaged. Hundreds of people are being hosted in ad-hoc camps erected by authorities.

Some 25,000 homes in areas not directly hit by the floods were initially left without electricity. By Sunday afternoon, however, the number of homes without electricity dropped to 11,000. That evening saw only around 2,000 without power, according to energy minister Sebastian Burduja, who traveled to Galati County.

He emphasized that in specific cases, for safety reasons, the consumers' installations were not powered due to fire or short-circuit risks. 'It's been pouring rain here since 4:00 PM, but the technical teams worked absolutely exemplarily and are still in the field," he said on Facebook, adding that the remaining problems will be addressed on Monday.

Aside from the reconnection to the electricity grid, the government also announced the setting up of four modular buildings from the National Reserves of the State, where children from the flood-affected areas in Galați can temporarily attend school. 

"Each building has a capacity of 80-100 people and is equipped with sanitary facilities," prime minister Marcel Ciolacu stated on Facebook. 

The Ministry of Education informed in a press release on Sunday that, given the extent of the damage caused by the floods, classes are suspended on September 16 and 17 in 25 schools in Galați County.

President Klaus Iohannis extended his condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the recent floods and expressed solidarity with those affected. 

"We must continue strengthening our ability to anticipate extreme weather events, alert the population, and respond effectively to these phenomena, which are being amplified by climate change," the president emphasized. "We are once again facing the effects of climate change, which are becoming increasingly frequent across the European continent, with dramatic consequences for people. I offer my condolences to the grieving families who have lost loved ones and a message of solidarity with all those affected by this calamity," he further stated in the official press release.

The storm Boris also caused floods beyond Romania. The storm is affecting the entire central and eastern Europe, causing damage and flooding in Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland as well. One person drowned in Poland, and four others are missing in neighboring Czechia due to torrential rains and rising river levels. 

In Krakow, Poland's second-largest city, residents have been offered sandbags for flood protection, according to the BBC. The Austrian province surrounding Vienna has been declared a disaster area, with its leaders speaking of "an unprecedented extreme situation."

Overall, thousands were evacuated, and tens of thousands were left without power. The heavy rains, which began Friday morning, are expected to last at least until Monday in Czechia and Poland.

The rains also impacted traffic in the region and in Romania. Traffic remains halted on DN 25 between Vameș and Tudor Vladimirescu in Galați County as of Monday morning, according to the Romanian Police's INFOTRAFIC Center. Additionally, two other sections of county roads in Galați are closed due to flooding. In Arad County, traffic on DN 7 near Lipova is restricted to one lane, with police directing vehicles due to debris on the road.

The international Dacia 347 train from Vienna – Budapest – Arad – Brașov – Bucharest North did not depart from the station in Vienna on Sunday evening due to unfavorable weather conditions that caused major flooding in Austria, according to CFR Călători.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photos: Inquam Photos / George Călin)