Fit For Future, an Erasmus+ project Dichiseni School

1. FIT FOR FUTURE
project
Natural
disasters and
accidents in
Romania
:ȘCOALA GIMNAZIALĂ NR. 1 DICHISENI

2. NATURAL DISASTERS IN
ROMANIA

3. Romania’s territory is exposed to a large number of natural
risks as a result of its geographical position and
landscape, such as:
01
02
03
04
05
Earthquakes
Floods
Landslides
Dangerous meteorological phenomena
Forest fires

4. Since 1990, 77 severe disaster events were recorded
in Romania, including 44 floods, 15 extreme temperature
events, 7 storms, 2 earthquakes, 1 drought and 1 landslide,
resulting in more than US$3.5 billion of direct damage.
Over the last 100 years, 13 earthquakes resulted in
2,630 fatalities and affected more than 400,000 people, with
damages from the 1977 earthquake alone exceeding
US$2 billion.
At the same time, the potential impact of natural disasters is
increasing because of:
(i) the increasing exposure of people and economic assets;
(ii) insufficient funding for risk reduction;
(iii) the effects of climate change.

5. Romania is an earthquake region, due to the
curvature of the Carpathians.
If you look on a map, you see that the mountains
go from the North to the South, in the eastern part,
then make an angle of 90 degrees, and continue
to West.
That is a point of tectonic tensions, which leads
periodically to strong earthquake.

6. Historical seismicity in Romania
Source: Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest

7. Most recent probabilistic seismic hazard map
of Romania
Source: Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest

8. Romania is one of the countries most at risk
from earthquakes in the EU, with hundreds of lives
lost and tens of thousands of buildings damaged
in earthquakes in the last 200 years.
In the last five centuries, there have been, on
average, two magnitude 7+ earthquakes each
century, with five earthquakes since 1802 with
magnitudes higher than 7.5.

9. One of Romania’s most powerful recent earthquakes took place in 1977.
Measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, it caused more than 1,500 fatalities,
left 11,321 injured, and collapsed or severely damaged 156,000
residential apartments.
More than about 2,000 schools were damaged, and 274 completely
collapsed. Of hospitals and polyclinics, 448 were damaged,
and 11 hospitals collapsed.
In 1978, a World Bank report estimated a total damage of US$2 billion,
11 with Bucharest accounting for 70 percent of the total damage
(about US$1.4 billion). The 1977 earthquake contributed
extensively to the serious economic crisis that began in Romania
in 1979 and lasted even after 1989.

12. Romania is already experiencing the impacts of
climate change, including increased floods and
droughts in the last two decades.
Impacts from this phenomenon include:
•the increased incidence of severe inland and coastal flooding;
•the increased intensity and frequency of drought;
•an increased risk of soil erosion and desertification.
Romania’s climate is predicted to change considerably
over the next 50–100 years.
Increases in air temperatures vary among climate
models, but increases in the annual average temperature are
expected to be in the range of +0.5°C–1.5°C by 2029;
and +2.0°C–5.0°C by 2099, depending on the global climate
scenario used.

13. Romania is also one of the most
flood-prone countries in Europe,
with significant damage from
floods occurring several times
per decade.

14. In 2006 the floodwaters overwhelmed extensive dykes that
carried irrigation water needed to improve the country’s backward
agriculture.
The consequences were disastrous, with nearly 250 towns and
villages inundated in the first few days and almost the entire country
affected to greater or lesser extent.
The waters did not recede for over a month and before doing so
around 200 people died, more than 40,000 houses had been swept
away or damaged beyond repair, tens of thousands of farm animals
were drowned and crops on hectares (1,000,000 acres) of land were
ruined.
In addition, 250,000 people were rendered homeless
and a similar number had to be evacuated ahead of the rising waters.

15. From 1987 to 2002, Romania had the greatest spatial extent with repeated flood events
of all EU countries.

17. Historical flood-affected areas in Romania

18. Droughts have affected 48 percent of agricultural land in Romania, and estimates
suggest a 20 percent chance of severe drought in the next 10 years.

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Welcome!!

20. Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent as the climate warms,
with the follow-on events of more intense and frequent wildfires
Bucharest currently ranks
among the 5th fastest-warming
cities around the world, with an
increase of +7.9°C temperature
if recent emissions trends
continue, and +4.2°C with
moderate emission cuts.

21. Romania also faces frequent landslides in some areas, with most events occurring
in March and April, during snowmelt and spring rain overlap, and again in
June and July, when heavier rainfall occurs.
Increased landslide activity has also occurred following significant earthquakes.
Most of the damage is related to homes and road infrastructure.

22. Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent as the climate warms,
with the follow-on events of more intense and frequent wildfires
Bucharest currently ranks
among the 5th fastest-warming
cities around the world, with an
increase of +7.9°C temperature
if recent emissions trends
continue, and +4.2°C with
moderate emission cuts.

23. Accidents

24. Certej dam failure
The 1971 Certej dam failure was a flood due to the failure of a
tailings dam at the Certej Mine which led to the death of 89 people
and 76 people being wounded. It occurred on the 30th of October
1971 in Certeju de Sus Commune, Hunedoara County, Romania.
The tailing pond of Certej was used between 1936 and 1971 to hold
the cyanide-laced acid tailings resulting from the gold mine
exploitation of Certej.
A governmental commission made out of 16 experts was created to
investigate the disaster. Following their investigation, they found that
the tailings lost their stability due to the increase in height over the
allowed limits. Also, a factor may have been the heterogenous
content of the pond, as between 1936 and 1971, various materials
were deposited, having different characteristics, leading to a fault
slip.

27. BALOTEȘTI CRASH PLANE
TAROM Flight 371 (RO371/ROT371) was a scheduled international
passenger flight, flying with an Airbus A310 from Otopeni International
Airport in Romania's capital Bucharest to Brussels Airport in Brussels,
Belgium.
On the 31st of March 1995 the Airbus A310-324, entered a nose-down dive
after take off and crashed near Balotești in Romania. All 60 people aboard
were killed in the crash.
Investigation of the crash revealed that the faulty auto-throttle reduced the left
engine to idle during climb. While this was happening, the Captain became
incapacitated, leaving the First Officer overwhelmed and unable to respond
properly to the failure. The crash was the deadliest plane crash in Romania's
history. It was also the deadliest plane crash in TAROM's operational history.

30. The Mihăileşti explosion occurred on the 24th of May 2004 in the village Mihăileşti,
Buzău County, Romania. A truck loaded with ammonium nitrate rolled over and
caught fire, and one hour later exploded killing at least 18 people and another
13 were wounded.
Following this event, safety regulations for the transport of chemical substances
were improved and ammonium nitrate was classified as a hazardous chemical
compound. The director of the Doljchim plant, which produced the ammonium nitrate,
and the managers of the two companies involved in the transport of this substance
without safety measures were charged with homicide by negligence and
destruction of property.
All were found guilty and sentenced to 4 years in jail, as well as the payment of
compensations to the victims' families.
Mihăilești explosion

32. COLECTIV NIGHTCLUB FIRE
The Colectiv nightclub fire was a deadly fire in Bucharest, Romania,
on the 30th of October 2015, which killed 64 people (26 on site, 38 in hospitals)
and injured 146.
The fire, the worst incident in Romania since the Balotești plane crash (1995),
occurred during a free concert performed by the metalcore band Goodbye to
Gravity to celebrate the release of their new album, Mantras of War.

35. Dichiseni School Team:
Valentina Oprișan
Alexandra Chițu
Roxana Dumbravu
Elena Gavrilă
Ramona Savu
Claudia Andrei
Grade VIII
Thank you!