Over 3000 people evacuated from floods' start

During a week, high water on the Prut River flooded 60 communities in 14 districts on Moldova. The worst affected area is Hancesti district, where the number of evacuated people amounted to 2,000, Interior Minister Victor Catana told a news conference on Friday, Info-Prim Neo reports. Besides homes, the floods damaged 735 hectares of farmland, 809 hectares of pastureland, and 350 hectares of private gardens and orchards. The discharge on the Prut River is now 800 cubic meters per second, as compared with the normal levels of 120 – 200 m3/s. A new wave of high water could affect villages in Briceni district, in particular Criva, Lipcani and Sirauti, where the water level is said to be rising. Other areas deemed at risk of flooding are the villages of Slobozia Mare (Cahul), Antonesti and Leca (Cantemir), and Tochile-Raducani (Leova). Here efforts are being made to reinforce dams and construct escape channels. 500 police staff, 250 rescuers, 300 carabineers, 100 army troops, and 70 penitentiary staff are daily involved in relief efforts, added Minister Victor Catana. From the beginning of the floods, there have been evacuated 3,000 from different areas along the Prut. Over 25 kilometers of dams and barrages on the Prut were reinforced or reconstructed. The Service for Emergencies announced on Friday that toward the evening the Prut levels rose slightly in Sirauti, by 8 cm, and in Lipcani, by 5 cm, but no flooding occurred.