Romania to access EU funds to help areas affected by devastating floods, PM says

Romania's government said on Monday that it will use an EU support package to help people affected by flash floods that left at least three people dead in the country's northeast.

The aid consists of amounts between €3,000-6,000 per case, which will be granted after damage assessments have been carried out in the hard-hit counties of Neamt and Suceava, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Monday.

Bucharest will also activate the EU Solidarity Fund, through which Romania can access hundreds of millions of euros for the reconstruction of the area, but this money will only arrive in a few months, Bolojan said.

In Suceava alone, approximately €78 million is needed for the reconstruction of the city of Brosteni and other affected localities, according to the County Council.

Romania's announcement was confirmed by Dragoș Pîslaru, Minister of Investments and European projects, who wrote on Facebook that the measure will put the European Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction (RESTORE) mechanism to use for the first time.

According to Pîslaru, RESTORE, which was created for cases of major natural disasters, will allow for the rapid allocation of millions of euros from European funds to the affected areas.

At least three people were killed when torrential rainstorms hit Romania in late July, triggering flash floods in the northeast.

Hundreds were forced to leave their homes as rescue services deployed in Neamt and Suceava. Some 680 homes were affected by the flash floods, which destroyed 41 houses, as well as the water and sewage network, according to local media reports.

Residents, some trapped in their homes by flooding, were rescued by firefighters and helicopters. Authorities reported they evacuated about 890 people in the city of Neamt alone.

Last September, at least 24 people were killed by Storm Boris after a massive wave of flooding hit Central Europe, causing widespread destruction in around five countries.

Romania's north-eastern Galați and Vaslui counties were the most affected by that flooding.