Romania: Floods Kill One; Hundreds Evacuated

Bucharest, 28 July 1997 (RFE/RL) -- One person is reported dead and hundreds have been evacuated after swollen rivers this weekend flooded regions across Romania.

Correspondents say three days of incessant rain pushed up the levels of 17 Romanian rivers. The areas hardest hit include the western Banat region, the Crisana region near Hungary, central Transylvania and eastern regions near Moldova.

Romania's environment ministry says one man drowned in the Vaslui region near the border of Moldova when his horse-drawn cart was swept away by the floods.

The ministry says 1,000 hectares of farmland are now underwater. But government officials insist this year's grain harvest has no been affected by the weather.