In a single day, floods and heavy rains struck 39 settlements in 12 counties of Romania and Bucharest. The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations recorded flooding in 26 houses, 159 yards, 30 basements — and at least several villages that temporarily lost road access.
Nișkov as a vulnerability marker
The epicenter of the crisis became the Nișkov River on the border between Prahova and Buzău counties. On February 6, Romania's National Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources Management (INHGA) issued a red code — the highest threat level — due to dangerous water level rise. According to Xinhua, due to flooding of the road along the Nișkov, 12 people in a village near Buzău were completely cut off from the outside world.
This is not a coincidence. According to Digi24, in the village of Mieră in the same Buzău county, several households have been isolated due to Nișkov overflow for the second time in a short period — specialized equipment was restoring access right in the field.
What rescuers are doing and what they cannot do
Rescuers were pumping out water and clearing debris from 14 fallen trees that damaged two vehicles. On national road DN 10, traffic was completely blocked after a landslide covered the roadway with alluvium — CNAIR equipment was working directly on the asphalt.
"Ro-Alert warning systems were activated for residents of risk zones"
Romania's General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations
The warning worked. But a warning cannot replace a road that no longer exists.
Recurrence as a systemic problem
February floods are not an anomaly. Romania experienced devastating floods in summer and fall 2024, and then again at the beginning of 2025. Each time the picture is similar:
- Red codes along small rivers that have no regulatory structures
- Rural roads that are destroyed by the first serious flood
- Rescuers pumping out water instead of preventing it from flowing
According to Romania Insider, in October 2024 alone during one weather episode, over 110 settlements in 22 counties were affected, and four people had to be evacuated from a water trap.
Being cut off is not a metaphor
For 12 people in a village near Nișkov, being cut off from the world meant something concrete: the inability to call an ambulance, reach a store, or leave if the situation worsened. Romanian authorities have plans for bank reinforcement of small rivers — but the pace of their implementation does not match the frequency of emergency situations.
If by the next flood season Romania does not reinforce the banks of the Nișkov and does not repair the road in Mieră — the same dozen people will find themselves in the same trap for the third time.
