Storm lashes Romanian capital, streets flooded, trees uprooted, flights delayed

A heavy storm  hit the Romanian capital on Monday, flooding major boulevards, disrupting public transport and delaying flights, forcing residents to waded through inundated streets.

High winds uprooted trees which fell on parked cars and a shopping mall was evacuated as water poured through the roof in the storm which lasted an hour on Monday afternoon. Some 800 calls were made the emergency services. No injuries were reported.

Five aircraft which were due to land at Henri Coandă Airport were delayed due to the storm which began at about 3 p:m. Other flights were delayed until the storm passed.

At least two flights were sent to the Black Sea city of Constanta to wait for the bad weather to pass.

It was the latest flooding to hit Romania in the past week. In central Romanian, dozens of homes were evacuated near salt mines in central Romania and the mines were at risk of collapse after the worst floods in 30 years in the area.

The mine produces about 70,000-100,000 metric tons yearly and its galleries and medical center attract half a million tourists each year.

Last week, the government approved support schemes worth 300 million lei as relief help to the state-owned mine as well as up to 200 local companies that will be affected fro

m the loss of tourism.

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