Romania - Flood Recovery Project

Report No. 876a-RO Romania FILE COPY Flood Recovery Project Evaluation of Flood Damages October 21, 1975 Europe, Middle East and North Africa Not for Public Use Document of the World Bank This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EQUIVALENT Except where otherwise indicated, all figures are quoted in komanian Lei. For all calculations, the following conversion rate has been used: US$1 = Lei 20 Lei 1 = US$0.05 Lei 1,000 - US$50.00 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES All weights and measures are in metric units 1 Metric Ton (t) = 1,000 Kilograms (kg) 1 Metric Ton (t) = 2,204.6 Pounds 1 Kilometer (km) = 0.62 Miles 1 Hectare (ha) = 2.47 Acres 1 Cubic Meter tm3) 35.3 Cubic Feet ABBREVIATIONS IB Investment Bank BAFI Bank for Agriculture and Food Industry ISPIF Institute for Land Reclamation and Designing NWC National Water Council MAIA Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry IMH Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology IDR Institute of Design and Research of the National Water Council ROMANIAN FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31  ROMANIA FLOOD RECOVERY PROJECT EVALUATION OF FLOOD DAMAGES TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. I. INTRODUCTION ....................................... 1 II. BACKGROUND . ................................ 2 A. General .......................... . 2 B. The River Basins ..... ............................... 2 C. Floods Prior to 1975 .......................... 5 D. The 1975 Floods ............................... 5 III. GENERAL IMPACT OF THE 1975 FLOODS .... .............. 7 IV. INDUSTRIAL SECTORS INCLUDING POWER, MINING AND PETROLEUM .......................................... 10 A. Background ...... .............................. 10 B. Power Sector . ................. 10 C. Mining, Petroleum and Geological Sector ....... 12 D. Industry Sector ...... ......................... 14 E. Cost of Reconstruction Program ............. ... 21 V. TRAPNSPORT AND TELECOtMUNICATIONS SECTORS .... ....... 23 A. Background .................................... 23 B. M+Iain Impact of the Floods ..................... 23 C. Transportation and Telecommunications Networks 24 D. Government's Rehabilitation Program .... ........ 25 E. Organization for Reconstruction .... ........... 26 VI. AGRICULTURFE AND WATER SECTORS ...................... 28 A. Losses in Agricultural Sector .... ............. 28 B. Impact of Agricultural Losses on the Economy 31 C. Losses to Irrigation, Drainage and Flood Protection Works ......................... 33 D. Long-Term Programming for Water Control ....... 35 This report has been prepared by Messrs. R. Sadove, R. Mulligan, S. Niaz, H. Kohli, T. Haile-Mariam and N. Noon who visited Romania in July 1975.  ANNEXES 1. Data on Rivers, Rainfall and Flood Flows 2. Estimated Damages During 1975 Floods 3. Agricultural and Water Sectors 4. Industrial Sectors Including Power, Mining and Petroleum 5. Transport and Telecommunications Sectors MAPS IBRD 11829 11830 11831 11832 11833 11846  ROMANIA FLOOD RECOVERY PROJECT EVALUATION OF FLOOD DAMAGES I. INTRODUCTION During the first ten days of July 1975, serious floods caused ex- tensive economic and other damage in Romania. On July 10, Romania requested assistance from the Bank, which organized an interdisciplinary mission to survey flood damages and explore the possibilities of a flood rehabilitation project. The mission arrived in Bucharest on July 21 with Mr. Munir Benjenlc, Vice-President of the Bank, and worked in Romania until July 30. This report on evaluation of flood damages has been prepared by Messrs. Sadove (mission chief), Mulligan, Niaz, Kohli, Haile-Mariam and Noon who participated in the mission. 1.02 While Romania has experienced a series of relatively local floods in recent years, the 1975 floods were more widespread and caused more serious economic damage than any earlier floods. Five major river basins with con- tiguous headwaters near the junction between the eastern and southern Carpathian mountains were seriously affected as described in Chapter II. There was also some flood damage along the Danube and in a number of other river basins. Flash floods in the upper reaches of each river basin and on the Transylvanian plateau, and numerous landslides, caused extensive damage to industry and transport. Low-lying agricultural land further down in the basins was innundated with resulting damage to crops, agricultural assets and some industry. Rain and flood water collected in relatively flat and poorly drained agricultural land between river basins and also caused extensive damage to crops. 1.03 Total losses directly attributed to the floods in agriculture, in- dustry, transport and flood protection works have been estimated at about $793 million. In addition to these quantified economic losses, about 1,300 villages, 65 towns, and portions of Bucharest were flooded, where there was extensive damage to housing and public facilities and sixty-two people lost their lives. The Bank mission also reviewed the Government's program for flood recovery, and that review has provided the basis for the Flood Recovery Project for which a lending of US$60 million is proposed.  -2- II. BACKGROUND A. General 2.CG Romania is endowed with abundant natural resources, a good climate, fertLhe soils, and an ample sunply of "and relative to the population of some 21 million people. 0' the total land area of 237,500 km2, about 15 million na (63%) are suitable fcr agriculture and about 6.3 million ha (27%) are covere2 by forests. About 9.7 million ha are cultivated each year with field crops, 4.5 million ha are covered by permanent pastures and meadows and the remaining area is under vineyards and orchards. The Carpathian mountains, with elevations exceeding 2,500 m, dormiinate the central part of the country; their three distinct ranges - the eastern, the southern and the western - encircle the relatively flat area of the Transylvania region. Almost all Romanian rivers originate from the Carpathian mountains, flowing in all directions and eventually draining into the Danube River, which forms Romania's southern boundary with Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Although there is considerable variation in rainfall ranging from around 95 mm to 280 mm between March and June (a critical period for cereal growth), annual levels above 1,000 mm and nearly 1,500 mm are common in the mountains. Despite risks of seasonal drought and annual flooding in various parts of the coun- try, water resources abound with many low-lying valleys which are drained by numerous rivers and basins. 2.02 Romania's continental climate is influenced from the north by the polar winds and from the south by the milder Mediterranean climate. Persist- ent dry summer wind from the south, however, can give the southeast severe drought with resulting crop failure. Considerable variations in the climate within the country are masked by the average figures, which indicate a mean annual temperature of 110C in the Danube plains and the Black sea region and 6'C in the mountainous areas. Almost the entire country receives snow during winter. B. The River Basins 2.03 The water resources of the countrv are dominated by the Danube, and virtually all the country's rivers are tributaries to the Danube (Annex 1, Table 1). Aniono the most important rivers are the western (the Somes, the Mures), the scuthern (the Jiu, the Olt, the Arges and the Ialomita) and the eastern i