Danube swells

Romania will submerge thousands of hectares of farmland on the banks of the Danube to prevent the swollen river from flooding villages, Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu said yesterday.

Soldiers stacked sandbags around towns as the water level in the river - boosted by melting snow - rose to its highest level in more than a century in some areas, flooding ports and villages on the southern bank of the river in Bulgaria.

"We decided to pursue controlled flooding of farmland along the Danube to protect villagers who might be hit by rising waters," Mr Tariceanu told reporters after an extraordinary cabinet meeting.

Mr Tariceanu said experts predicted the Danube would hit flow levels in coming days not seen since 1895. The operation to submerge the farmland was expected to begin within days, an official from the waters department said.

About 90,000 hectares of fertile soil on a 400-kilometre stretch of the river will be flooded. Romania, which cultivates wheat and maize on the river's northern bank, has yet to estimate potential losses.

In the Danube town of Fetesti, soldiers stacked 50,000 sandbags to protect it from rising waters, and emergency workers aboard small boats were cutting electricity cables to prevent short-circuiting.

"If the water rises a few more centimetres I'll lose everything I fought for in my life," said Paulina Clim, 44, whose courtyard was already submerged after a dam nearby collapsed.

Environment Minister Sulfina Barbu said meteorologists forecast no rain for the next few days, but heavy rains might occur as early as Wednesday.