Swollen Danube waters continued to wreak havoc in Southern Romania over the weekend as they placed 12 counties under high alert, flooded over 500 households and forced the evacuation of some 600 people. The Danube water level is rising still from the point of entry on Romanian territory down to the city of Calarasi and authorities expect them to further rise by 25-35 centimeters on Monday.

Two dams will be broken to control floods today – one on the Borcea channel in the county of Calarasi and one in Ialomita, close to the village of Facaeni, where livestock will be evacuated, according to the Environment Ministry.

One of the most serious situations has been recorded in the village of Rast, Dolj county, where rising waters flooded dozens of households and 300 people were evacuated on Sunday. 15 houses collapsed because of the flood in the county so far.

And in the county of Constanta, at Harsova, Danube flooded many households as the water rose half a meter on land, forcing the evacuation of dozens of families while other several hundred people are ready to leave.

The situation is also critical in the city of Fetesti, Ialomita county, where the river rose 15 cm on Saturday night and is expected to grow further, threatening a dam that protects the nearby Fetesti Village.

In Galati, Danube exceeded its 1970 historical high by two centimeters last week, as the 634 cm-deep river flooded part of the port and forced local authorities to start works on a first dam to protect urban areas close to the river.

Starting Sunday, ship and fast boat traffic was banned for the whole area of the Danube Delta and up to Galati.

While some forecasts said on Sunday the river would start withdrawing soon, hydrologists warned that the danger is far from over as the Danube might exceed its historical high of 15,900 cubic meters per second in the coming period.