Causes and effects of the catastrophic flooding on the Siret River (Romania) in July–August 2008

Abstract

As a result of the massive deforestation and windfalling in Romania last year, catastrophic floods frequently occur with historic high-water marks only to be registered every 500 or 1,000 years. In that context, the north-eastern sector of Romania is especially affected, that is, the drainage basins of the Siret and Prut Rivers. The floods of 2008 affected the northern half of the Siret drainage basin and the northern part of the Prut drainage basin. The Prut River reached a historic peak discharge for all the rivers in Romania (7,146 m3/s), and in Dragesti, they also recorded a historic maximum of 2,930 m3/s on the Siret River. At the same time, other mountain tributaries of the Siret reached historic flow rate values: Suceava, Solonet, Moldova, Moldovita, Sucevita, etc. Catastrophic flooding in the north-east of Romania was caused by an increase in the frequency of rainfall events, exceeding 100 mm/24 h. The damage caused by the Siret flooding in 2008 was the greatest in the history of hydrological risk phenomena in that basin (over 2 billion Euros) and also in Romania. The amount of damage in 2005 (historic high marks) was significantly higher than in 2008.