ROMANIA breached a major dike to divert floodwater threatening villages in the Danube delta, while Hungary evacuated thousands of people as swollen rivers spread havoc across eastern Europe yesterday.

Authorities have quarantined another village in eastern Romania after three chickens tested positive for the H5 subtype of bird flu, officials said today.

ROMANIA confirmed yesterday that dead hens discovered in a remote village had bird flu as Chinese officials warned that the threat to humans was growing as the winter flu months approached and ordered officials to stockpile emergency supplies.

Four hens discovered dead in a remote Romanian village in the Danube Delta have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, the government said today.