Thousands evacuated due to Danube flooding

Thousands of residents have been evacuated from two Danube villages in western Romania and thousands more are under threat as the river hit near-record levels in Romania and Bulgaria today.

In the western Romanian Danube community of Bistret, hundreds of rescue workers scrambled to repair a dike that cracked this morning under the weight of the waters.

More than 3,000 people were evacuated from the nearby village of Rast after a dike collapsed yesterday, while some 400 people were forced to leave their homes in nearby Negoi.

Authorities said more than 600 houses in Rast were flooded, with 115 collapsing.

A total of 5,000 people have been evacuated from flooded areas, with some 120 localities and almost 40,000 hectares of land flooded, hundreds of miles of riverbanks underwater and 18 bridges destroyed by floodwaters.

In Hungary, some 520 people have been evacuated due to flooding, the Water Affairs Ministry said.

The Danube was receding today in Serbia after causing extensive damage to homes and farmland.