BACKGROUND
	PROJECT OBJECTIVES
	CURRENT STATUS

Romania has experienced major floods over the years. Available statistics mention catastrophic floods beginning in 1851. In the twentieth century, the most important floods were those of 1970 and 1975. During the decade from 1991-2000, floods occurred every year, and each resulted in human casualties and major damages.

Floods, as well as accidental industrial spills, disrupted the social and economic life in the affected areas, adding to the chronic problems caused by the Romania's transition to market economy. It is too soon to assess the full effects on the plants and wildlife, particularly fish, in affected rivers. Nonetheless, dead fish were widely observed and huge economic losses were caused by the reduction in economic activity, such as fishing and tourism, in the affected river basins. Monitoring of the long-term effects of recent industrial spills will uncover other costs in terms of both biodiversity and economic losses, and help identify and regulate more ideal land use.

This study focused attention on a flood monitoring concept titled 'Destructive Water Abatement and Control of Water Disasters' (DESWAT) drafted by a Romanian Insitution for Hydrology (INGHA). Effective flood early warning systems are measured in terms of the lead-time duration that affected inhabitants are provided to respond to an imminent flood event to save lives and assets. Strongs Institutions and skilled technical specialist required to make real-time access to automated stream gauging data possible.