Exceptional floods in the Prut basin, Romania, in the context of heavy rains in the summer of 2010

• Main Authors: G. Romanescu, C. C. Stoleriu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2017-03-01
• Series: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
• Online Access: http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/17/381/2017/nhess-17-381-2017.pdf
• ISSN: 1561-8633; 1684-9981

The year 2010 was characterized by devastating flooding in central and eastern Europe, including Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. This study focuses on floods that occurred during the summer of 2010 in the Prut River basin, which has a high percentage of hydrotechnical infrastructure. Strong floods occurred in eastern Romania on the Prut River, which borders the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, and the Siret River. Atmospheric instability from 21 June to 1 July 2010 caused remarkable amounts of rain, with rates of 51.2 mm/50 min and 42.0 mm/30 min. In the middle Prut basin, there are numerous ponds that help mitigate floods as well as provide water for animals, irrigation, and so forth. The peak discharge of the Prut River during the summer of 2010 was 2310 m³ s⁻¹ at the Rădăuţi-Prut gauging station. High discharges were also recorded on downstream tributaries, including the Baseu, Jijia, and Miletin. High discharges downstream occurred because of water from the middle basin and the backwater from the Danube (a historic discharge of 16 300 m³ s⁻¹). The floods that occurred in the Prut basin in the summer of 2010 could not be controlled completely because the discharges far exceeded foreseen values.