Danube Likely To Set New Record Highs In Bulgarian Flooding - Reuters

[hatrack]

SOFIA - The Danube river rose to its highest level in decades on Wednesday, forcing people to flee their homes in Serbia and Romania and swamping cities along its banks in Bulgaria, officials said.

Bulgaria's disaster management ministry declared a state of emergency in all towns along the river after its waters rose to 928 centimetres (365 inches) in Vidin, just two centimetres below the critical overflow level. Authorities evacuated patients from the first floor of Vidin's city hospital and an orphanage, while authorities shut schools and told families with children to leave town, news agency BTA cited mayor Ivan Tsenov as saying.

In the port of Lom, home to 6,000 people, soldiers and disaster workers rushed to construct a new dyke to hold back the River, which continued rising in heavy rain and melting snow from central Europe. "We are building a second dike in, as the water levels reach a 35-year record high of 910 centimetres," said Elena Yaneva, spokeswoman for the disaster management ministry.

The environment ministry said it expected the river to exceed 960 centimetres in Vidin on Thursday, beating a record high set in 1942 when it flooded the town. The Danube should peak at around 990 centimetres next Wednesday.

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http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/35989/story.htm