Romanian Flood Victims Haunted By The Dam That Wasn’t

Floods in Galati flow past part of the unfinished Suhurlui Dam.

Since construction was halted, the abandoned dam has become a testament to neglect and bureaucratic inaction. Thieves have scavenged materials and equipment like clay carts and trailers from the site, says Gheorghe Buruiana, who was mayor of Rediu, which used to include Suhurlui.

Efforts to revive the project have been further complicated by the sale to private owners of land where the reservoir was supposed to stand, he says.

Radu Drobot, a professor of hydrotechnical engineering at the Technical University of Civil Engineering in Bucharest, said the Suhurlui Dam could play “an extremely important part” in flood prevention. If it were in place, he says, downstream flows could be reduced by around 80 percent.

Rebuilding

In the face of a rising tide of disaster, Mircea Fechet, Romania’s environment, waters, and forests minister, said on September 25 that he had ordered a feasibility study “within a record period of time” for redeveloping Suhurlui with a greater focus on flood protection than irrigation. But even a fast-tracked study will take months to complete, and years to implement the results.

For Slobozia Conachi resident Stefana Todica, that’s a lot of uncertainty on which to rebuild her life. A few pots and some clothing are all she has after Storm Boris, she told RFE/RL — everything else was bloated or otherwise destroyed. She hoped to get a container that could provide some shelter, but that presents its own challenges in a region where winter temperatures can drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

While she stood surveying the damage, Romanian authorities were declaring red alerts and evacuations as heavy rains and flooding threatened Galati again on September 30-October 1.

Written by Andy Heil based on reporting by Cezar Amariei of RFE/RL’s Romanian Service

Source link : https://www.rferl.org/a/romania-floods-suhurlui-dam-galati/33144876.html

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Publish date : 2024-10-09 05:04:07

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