At least thirty of the 42 counties in Romania have been put on a state of emergency by the Romanian government following weeks of severe drought. Twenty four people have died as the temperatures have soared to a scorching 45 degrees Celsius.

Some 1.7 million hectares of cereal crops have been destroyed throughout the country, according to Mediafax, a Romanian News Agency, making this the third consecutive year that Romania has faced a severe natural disaster.

'We need to think about the long-term effects of the drought for the coming winter. Our first focus is on children – ensure water supplies and hydration during the hot season and on people's households to protect them and support them keeping their animals. Together with communities in all WVR ADPs we shall continue working on disaster preparedness plans which we started to work on since the beginning of the year', said Mr. Eugen Borlea – WVR Relief Manager.

The most affected counties are in North-Eastern and Southern Romania.

In Vaslui County (North – East Romania) – poorest in the country, 85 % of the agriculture crop is damaged and compromised; several community wells have dried and are now dependant on water supply delivered by government and private donors. Others had to impose restrictions on water use, as the level of water in wells severely decreased.

In Dolj County (Southern Romania), over 125,000 hectares of cereal crops (60% of the agriculture field) were affected with the value of the damages accounting for some Euro 30 M.
The Romanian Minister of Agriculture has now offered assistance to replace the current irrigation systems that are very old and inefficient. The farmers avoided irrigation contracts because of the 20 per cent advance they have to pay.

'Farmers will now be able to acquire own irrigation systems thought structural programs which will be accessible from mid-August. The state will help them regarding credits, and will annul the interest and commissions incurred by restoration', stated Mr. Decebal Traian Remes, the Minister of Agriculture, end of last week.

Desperate, families who don't have food to give to their animals, have already started to slaughter their animals and sell them for almost nothing.

Towards the end of last week, the Ministry of Health set up 99 first – aid tents in 19 counties, in order to provide medical assistance to the elderly or people with diseases that could be aggravated by hot weather.

Weather forecasts say that the weather and thermal discomfort will maintain over the next three days, with temperatures reaching more than 38 degrees Celsius.