Severe flooding causes widespread devastation in Romania's Galati County

Romania's Galati County has been devastated by widespread flooding following days of heavy rainfall that has resulted in the deaths of seven people.

More than a third of the village of Pechea has been hit by the floods, which have caked many homes in layers of mud.

One local resident returned from Italy to find his house completely destroyed.

"I've been working on this house for 25 years, to have a house and food. And now I am totally devastated", he told Euronews, adding that he'd invested around €100,000 in the property over the years.

In the village of Slobozia Conachi, 750 houses have been flooded, as well as the town hall where the village's archives are kept. Many of the files have been covered in mud.

Data from Romania's home insurance scheme PAID shows only one out of Galati County's five localities had mandatory insurance at the end of August 2024.

Both Pechea and Slobozia Conachi suffered severe floods in 2013 and 2016, after which works were carried out to unclog the riverbed.

However, Pechea Mayor Mihăiță Măncilă says this did not offer sufficient protection from the latest floods.

"The problem is that a simple dam before Pechea Village is not enough," he told Euronews. "The water comes from much further away, it gathers from all the slopes, and also passes through our area."

Eight Romanian counties have been affected by the severe flooding that has inundated Central Europe in the last few days.

Roughly 200 million cubic metres of rain has fallen in the southern Moldavia region alone.

At least seven people have died so far, and thousands of homes have been damaged.