ANIMATION. Cyclone Federico caused an unusual phenomenon for Romania, called “storm surge”

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The roofs of several blocks have been blown off and there are boats that have sunk in Tomis Harbour. The cyclone also caused an unusual phenomenon for our country – the so-called “storm surge” in the sea. The low pressure in the core of the cyclone pulled up the sea level, which invaded the beaches by tens of meters.

Belona Beach, in Eforie, was flooded after the sea, which – in the open sea raised waves of up to 9 meters, advanced heavily on land. Several cars parked there were surrounded by water. In Vama Veche, the sand was no longer visible at all. The sea also covered the beach at Gura Portiței. The phenomenon that caused these situations, rarely seen in Romania, is called “STORM SURGE” – in translation: “storm surge”. Specialists say that it was determined by cyclone Federico, which arrived over the Black Sea the other day. The low pressure area generated gusts that reached speeds of 120 km/h. And it was the low pressure that “pulled up” the water level, which – then – the strong currents pushed it up to 50 meters on land. Răzvan Mateescu, INCDM Constanța researcher: “The tide gauge in Constanța even recorded a rise of more than 70 centimeters compared to the zero level of the Black Sea. In the present case, at Vama Veche, we have this complete washing of the beach surface by the storm surge of the sea level.” The huge waves during the storm brought a lot of vegetable pieces, snails and calcareous from the seabed ashore. A beach from which the deckchairs had not been removed or the terrace dismantled is completely destroyed. Andrei Damian, beach owner: “Broken wood, sunbeds blown, there is a lot of damage.” Cyclone Federico formed in the Atlantic and advanced rapidly towards western and central Europe. Then he headed to Romania and in the west of the Black Sea he stationed the most. Meteorologists describe it as the most violent recorded on the coast in the last five years. Mia Stamate, meteorologist: “At the weather station in Constanța on the pier, on the beach, we had wind gusts of up to 119 km/h. Also, in the western basin of the Black Sea, gusts reached 130 km/h.” The roofs of several blocks were torn off. Downstairs, a playground was completely destroyed. There were also a few damaged cars. In Port Tomis, several boats and a sailboat sank during the storm. The owners of the boats tried to pull them ashore. Man: “Broken engines, broken handles…” Man: “In fact, 15 million, thousands of lei went to the engine.” A kitesurfing enthusiast took advantage of the big waves and strong wind and soared up to 14 meters above the sea. Modest, he says he has colleagues who have reached 20. The images are unreal. On the other hand, after affecting the west of our coast, Cyclone Federico advanced and caused problems in Turkey and Bulgaria. Near Eregli – a ship under the flag of Cameroon, with 13 members on board, broke in two due to 5 meter high waves. All the crew were rescued by the Turkish authorities. In the same region, Turkish rescuers recovered the body of a sailor from a cargo ship that sank due to severe storms on Sunday. 11 crew members are reported missing. Elsewhere in Turkey, four people died after being swept away by torrential downpours in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Batman. Among the victims are a mother and her two children. The third child is still missing. About 50 people were injured in the floods. Torrential rain mixed with snowfall and accompanied by strong gusts of wind also hit the eastern half of Bulgaria. Two people lost their lives, severe damage was recorded and several localities were left without electricity. In Burgas, unusually high waves devastated the city’s main beach. Many restaurants were flooded. Man: “I’ve never seen anything like this before… and I’m 60 years old.” Cyclone Federico – meteorologists say – is also to blame for the snow that affected several regions in the country. It loaded the atmosphere with water from the sea and… Meda Andrei, service meteorologist: “This air loaded with water vapor, in contact with colder air coming down from Moldova, caused the first snowflakes to appear.” In Făgăraş, four tourists were stranded – because of the blizzard. It took eight hours for rescuers to reach them, through 60 centimeters of snow. The images, captured in Vaslui, were intensely commented on. On a snow-covered road, an unconscious 20-year-old man got out of the car in which he was a passenger and climbed onto the back of the body to balance the skidding car. The vehicle had rear wheel drive only.

What to expect in the next period

Even as the authorities worked on Monday to remove the effects of the cyclone – the devastation it caused, in a block area, is still visible. There was a children’s playground. Not much was left of the swing and the slide after the wind blew over them, the roofs of these blocks, next door. The storm tore pieces of sheet metal and wood from the building. Some also ended up over cars parked in the area. Some cars had their bodies crushed and their windows broken. The amount of damage has not yet been estimated. Calculations are still being made. The good news is that – for the time being – we are escaping the angry weather, forecasters say. However, rains are coming on Tuesday, quantitatively weak in the west and south-west. Then, towards the evening, they will intensify in Banat, and 25 liters of water per square meter will be recorded. So that, later on, the clouds will cross the whole country and cause low amounts of precipitation – more everywhere.

Reporters: Ina Popescu, Yvette Mîrza, Natașa Paraschiv, Cătălina Vieru, Daniel Nițoiu, Ilknur Pintilie