The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______

REMARKS ON THE FEATURES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE FLOODS OCCURRED IN THE PETROŞANI DEPRESSION DURING THE LAST THREE DECADES

Andra COSTACHE1, Dănuţ TANISLAV1

1Valahia University of Târgovişte

Abstract. The paper presents the results obtained by processing and interpreting data on the first two yearly floods, within the interval 1980-2002, recorded at five hydrometrical stations from the upper part of the River basin. There are emphasized the seasonal and the monthly frequency of the floods, their characteristic elements and the probability of exceeding the safety levels. The impact of the floods was analyzed on the basis of field observation and of several case studies that allowed us to present some recommendations for flood prevention and mitigation.

Key words: floods, frequency, characteristic elements, impact, mitigation

Introduction. In the Petroşani Depression, the floods and inundations are among the natural hazards with significant impacts on human settlements, economic activities and infrastructure. In order to highlight some characteristics of the floods occurred in this area, which almost completely overlaps to the upper basin of the Jiu river, there were processed and interpreted data on the two most important annual flood (after maximum flow value), within the period 1980-2002. There were analyzed data recorded from five hydrometrical stations (Fig. 1), respectively: Câmpu lui Neag, Iscroni (on ), Taia (on the Taia creek), Livezeni (on ) and Strâmbuţa.

Fig. 1. The Petroşani Depression: hydrographic network, hydrometrical stations and regularization works

The impact of some extreme events produced both on the monitored rivers and as a result of the draining on torrents or on unmonitored streams was highlighted through case

97 The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______

studies. They have allowed the formulation of recommendations on measures aimed to prevent and mitigate the impact of floods in the main areas exposed to this type of hazard.

Characteristics of the floods occurred in the Petroşani Depression. Genetically speaking, floods are of rainwater (65% produced in the warm season of the year, following heavy rains or long raining periods) and mixed – produced by rainwater and snow thawing (35%, mainly occurring during spring, but in some cases, and in winter). Regarding the seasonal frequency of floods, most of them are occurring during spring at the stations Câmpu lui Neag, Iscroni and Taia (42-52% of events), while at the stations Strâmbuţa and Livezeni the floods occurred during summer hold the largest share (Fig. 2).

60

50

40 w inter spring 30 (%) s ummer 20 autumn

10

0 Câmpu lui Iscroni Livezeni Taia Strâmbuţa Neag

Fig. 2. Seasonal frequency of the floods in the Petroşani Depression

Monthly, the highest frequency of floods is recorded in April (22% at Câmpu lui Neag), in May (20% at Câmpu lui Neag, 22% at Livezeni) and June (30% at Taia station and 28% at Strâmbuţa). The autumn and winter months are characterized by the lowest frequency of floods, and floods were absent in January in the range examined (table 1).

Line Hydrometric F H Month River no. station (km2) (m) I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII 1. Jiu Câmpu lui 155 1346 0 0 2.9 20 20 14.3 8.6 11.4 8.6 2.9 5.7 5.7 Neag 2. Jiu Iscroni 496 1134 0 0 6.7 22.2 17.8 15.6 11.1 8.9 4.4 2.2 2.2 8.9 3. Jiul Livezeni 440 1256 de 0 0 6.7 13.3 22.2 22.2 20 4.4 11.1 0 0 0 Est 4. Taia Taia 135 1206 0 0 4.3 19.6 28.3 30.4 6.5 6.5 2.2 0 2.2 0 5. Jiu Strâmbuţa 1024 1158 0 4.3 2.2 15.2 15.2 28.3 13 13 6.5 0 0 2.2

Table 1. Monthly frequency of floods in the Petroşani Depression

The largest floods, that have exceeded over two times the maximum average flow values were recorded in the years: 1981 - Taia (May) and Livezeni (June); 1984 – Câmpu lui Neag (April-May); 1986 - Strâmbuţa (July-August); 1991 - Iscroni (June, July); 1995 - Iscroni (December); 1998 – Strâmbuţa and Taia (June); 1999 - Iscroni (July, August), Strâmbuţa (May), Câmpu lui Neag (July) and 2002 – Câmpu lui Neag (August). The characteristic elements of flood waves (table 2) influence their impact and they are caused by various factors such as length and slope of river, altitude and average slope of the watersheds. In the studied period, the average maximum flow values range between less than 10 m3/s and 100 m3/s and the average total duration of the floods range between 321

98 The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______hours at Strâmbuţa and more than 450 hours at Livezeni. The maximum total duration of the floods has reached 1115 hours at Câmpu lui Neag (March-May 1986), 1715 hours at Iscroni (March-May 1986) and 2003 hours at Livezeni (March-June 1985).

Line River Hydrometric F H Q max. Q max. T T T total q max. no. station (km2) med average abs. increasing decreasing average average (m) (m3/s) (m3/s) average average (hours) (l/s·km2) (hours) (hours) 1. Jiul Câmpu lui 155 1346 35,6 189 98 225 323 de Neag (12.07.1999) Vest 229,7 2. Jiul Iscroni 496 1134 100,9 817 101 280 381 de (27.12.1995) Vest 203,4 3. Jiul Livezeni 440 1256 52,5 137 154 307 461 de (19.06.1981) Est 119,3 4. Taia Taia 135 1206 9,01 33,5 111 294 405 (19.06.1998) 66,7 5. Jiu Strâmbuţa 1024 1158 8,5 22,5 98 223 321 (12.06.1998) 8,3

Table 2. Characteristic elements of the floods

The mean propagation time in the river-bed is influenced by slope, depth and shape of the river-bed and roughness coefficient; during floods occurred in the spring of 2001, they were of 4.5 hours between Câmpu lui Neag and Iscroni, of 2.5 hours between Taia and Livezeni and of 2 hours between Livezeni and Strâmbuţa.

Line Hydrometric Reference Heights (cm) River Height „0” no. stations system attention inundation danger 1. Jiul de Vest Câmpu lui Neag 767,31 MB 300 330 400 2. Jiul de Vest Iscroni 552,74 MB 200 250 300 3. Jiul de Est Livezeni 578,88 MB 300 350 500 4. Taia Taia 683,51 MB 230 300 330 5. Jiu Strâmbuţa 539,13 MB 100 200 300

Table 3. Safety levels at the hydrometric stations in the Petroşani Depression

Of the total events analyzed, in 52% of cases there were recorded values above the safety levels (Table 3); the stations Taia and Strâmbuţa are distinguished by the highest frequency of such events (31% and 26% of above mentioned cases were recorded at these stations). At all stations, the floods that have exceeded the level of attention have the highest frequency (Table 4), except the Câmpu lui Neag station, where the values that exceeded the inundation level predominated (18% of cases). Only in four cases there were recorded values above the danger level, at the stations Câmpu lui Neag (July 1999), Iscroni (July 1999, August 1999), and Taia (June 1998). During floods, the rivers could maintain over the safety levels for different periods of time, which depend on the station's position along the rivers and on relief characteristics. For example, during the flood of July 1999, the waters of Jiul de Vest River maintained over the attention level for 138 hours, over the inundation level for more than 45 hours, and the danger levels were exceeded for 8 hours at Câmpu lui Neag and for 4.5 hours at Iscroni. The probability of exceeding the safety levels is particularly significant for the assessment of the human exposure to floods in the Petrosani Depression. The highest probability of exceeding the inundation levels was recorded at Câmpu lui Neag and Taia stations (20%), but the level of exposure to flooding for the downstream settlements is different: higher in the middle sector of Jiul de Vest river (where the hydrographical works,

99 The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______such as dams and flood control works are lacking or less effective), and lower on the Jiul de Est river, where major investments have been made for flood prevention works. The probability of exceeding the danger levels and the potential impact of these cases are also higher in the catchment of the Jiul de Vest river.

Hydrometric Events that Events that exceed Events that exceed Probability of exceeding the station exceed the the inundation levels the danger levels safety levels (%) attention levels No. cases % No. cases % No. cases % Attention Inundati Danger on Câmpu lui Neag 4 9 8 18 1 3 28 20 2 Iscroni 12 27 5 11 2 5 41 15 4 Taia 28 60 8 18 1 3 80 20 2 Livezeni 17 38 2 5 0 0 41 4 0 Strâmbuţa 29 63 0 0 0 0 63 0 0

Table 4. The frequency and the probability of exceeding the safety levels

Areas exposed to floods. Two categories of areas exposed to frequent flooding can be identified in the Petroşani Depression, depending on their causes (Fig. 3): • Areas exposed to floods due to rivers overflowing (the lower sectors of Taia and Buta valleys, upstream of confluences with Jiul de Est and Jiul de Vest respectively); • Areas exposed to floods due to torrential draining, such as the catchments of Morii Creek, Sterminos, Crevedia (Gruniului Valley), , Merişoara, Tusu and Slătinioara.

Fig.3. The main areas exposed to floods in the Petroşani Depression

Most of these areas are extended over the build-up areas of settlements (Câmpu lui Neag, Valea de Brazi, , , Vulcan, Aninoasa, Petrosani, and ), which aggravates the consequences of floods. The floods occurred in some small catchments, which are not monitored through hydrometrical stations, had also a significant impact on human settlements and on economic activities. Among the administrative units, Uricani is distinguished by a higher concentration of areas frequently affected by floods.

100 The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______

Case studies. In the last decade, the floods occurred almost each year in the Petroşani Depression (excepting 2000, 2003 and 2006) and where there situations when several events were recorded during the same year (Table 5). Of these, the floods occurred in summer of the years 1999, 2004 and 2005 are remarkable for the size of the damage and of affected areas.

Line Date of occurrence Affected settlements Damages no. 1. 12.06.1998 Petroşani (Slătinioara Aeroport District, Street 1 Decembrie 1918, brook) Parângul complex; flooding of the ground floor of several buildings, damages of the electricity supply network and telephonic network. 2. 12-15. 07.1999 Uricani, Lupeni Fatalities, damage to dwellings, households and infrastructure. 3. 13.08.1999 Petroşani Airport, Dacia and Parâng districts - 50 apartments flooded. Livezeni - 20 homes flooded. Petrila Petrila, Lonea, Jieţ 4 dwellings, 2 ha of agricultural land, 9 households and annexes were flooded; damages of the railway in the Lonea mining area.

Vulcan National road 66A, near the Paroşeni power plant. Lupeni 30 houses and the public roads (600 m) were flooded 4. 12.08.2001 Petroşani Airport District, 8 apartments damaged 5. 10.08.2002 Vulcan, Uricani (Câmpu In the towns of Uricani, Lupeni, Vulcan and lui Neag) Aninoasa, the water supply stopped and the water became undrinkable. 6. 19.08.2002 Lupeni Damages of two water exhaust pipes from the Renghii brook to the Jiul de Vest river; the water flooded 76 households. 7. 26-28.07.2004 Petroşani, Vulcan, 143.5 hectares of agricultural land have been Aninoasa, Lupeni, affected; there were also recorded damages of 1258 Uricani, Băniţa dwellings, 234 household annexes, livestock and poultry, 33.8 km of roads (44% of damages value), 0.3 km of national roads, 10 bridges and culverts. 8. 9-10.11.2004 Lupeni, Aninoasa 9. 9-10.07.2005 Uricani, Valea de Brazi, A victim; 30 houses, 102 household annexes and the Câmpu lui Neag, Lupeni basements of 20 blocks were flooded; 21 km village road were destroyed; 5.2 km of the national road 66A and telecommunications network were damaged; two bridges were partly destroyed; 14 culverts; 33.3 ha of meadow and 29.4 ha of land cultivated flooded. 10 22-23.10.2007 Uricani The overflow of the Jiul de Vest and its tributaries have affected the settlements Câmpu Neag, Valea de Brazi and several districts of Uricani. 11 25.05.2008 Petroşani 140 dwellings (of which 20 houses) from the Colony and Airport Districts were affected; dozens of people were evacuated; the national road Targu Jiu- Petrosani was blocked. The water level reached 50- 100 cm.

Table 5. Floods in the Petroşani Depression during the period 1998-2008 (ISUJ , 2005 a,b; Local committees for defense against disasters; field observations; Matinal newspaper archive)

Floods of July 1999. In July 1999, the heavy rains occurred in the upper basin of the Jiul de Vest river (136 mm/m2 fell on the night of July 11 to 12 in ) have generated a flood wave that was propagated (with trees and debris fragments) and affected the downstream settlements (especially Uricani and Lupeni). The flow of Jiul de Vest River

101 The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______reached 189 m3/s at Câmpu lui Neag (Fig. 4) and 160 m3/s at Iscroni and the danger levels were exceeded at both stations, with 50 cm and 16 cm. Although warnings were made through the Civil Protection network, the events have caused significant damage. According to the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of , there were two victims (in Lupeni) and 116 households were flooded, another 130 were isolated by the breaking of the concrete bridge on river Jiu at Câmpu lui Neag (Paroşenilor valley), which caused the flooding of 15 hectares of agricultural land. The transport infrastructure was affected (370 m of the national road 66 A, 1 km from the road to the Valea de Peşti dam, 4 km of road Câmpu lui Neag – Herculane, in the Buta catchment and three broken bridges), and the overflow of the Jiul de Vest at Câmpu lui Neag prevented the drinking water supply and required the stopping of the power distribution. A supporting pillar of the water adduction Valea de Peşti-Buta was damaged, creating the danger of rupture of the pipeline that ensured the water supply of the Petroşani. Floods continued until July 15 1999.

Floods of July 2004. In July 26-28 2004, a rainfall was recorded in the Petroşani Depression, exceeding 60-70 mm/24 h. The rainfall caused damage especially by overflowing rivers (Jiul de Vest at Lupeni) and streams (Cheia, Crivadia, Răchita, Jigoreasa, Coteşti, Băniţa, Copăcioasa, Răscoala, Merişoara, Crevedia, Aninoasa), but also by the draining on torrents and slopes (Uricani, Lupeni, Petrila), obstruction of the riverbeds (Banita), clogging gutters or lack thereof in some localities (Lupeni). The inundation level was exceeded with 10 cm at the Câmpu lui Neag hydrometric station, the water level reaching 340 cm, in July 27 2004.

Fig. 4. The hydrograph of the flood occurred in July 1999 on the Jiul de Vest River (Câmpu lui Neag)

The effects of the events were felt in several localities: Băniţa (Băniţa, Merişor, Crivadia), Petrila (Răscoala), Petroşani (Petroşani, Peştera), Uricani (Valea de Brazi, Câmpu lui Neag), Lupeni, Aninoasa and Vulcan (Vulcan, Dealu Babii and Jiu-Paroşeni). The most affected localities were Lupeni1 (750 houses affected) and Vulcan (472 houses affected), which together hold a share of 85% of the total damages recorded during the floods (Fig. 5a). The total value of damage was of 9,513,400 RON, of which 70% were financial losses reported by the population, namely the local emergency committees. The high level of damage was caused by the large number of affected houses (1258, representing 42% of the damage recorded by the local committees - Fig. 5b) and by the significant impact of floods on

1 The floods from Lupeni can be considered as na-tech hazards, being caused by the overflow of several lakes formed among the waste dumps, during heavy rainfall.

102 The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______the road network (over 30 km of roads were affected, totalizing 44% of the damage). Several institutions (e.g. Direcţia Silvică Deva, CNADN SC, Termoelectrica, RAAVJ, and SNCFR) registered financial losses of over 3 million RON, caused by the infrastructure damage.

3.8 1.0 Agricultural Vulcan 16.9 6.3 1.6 land Dwellings Aninoas a 4.1 41.9 Household Lupeni 68.4 annexes Roads Uricani 9.7 National Petroşani 0.2 roads Bridges, % Băniţa 0.6 43.6 culverts Other 0 20406080 1.7 damages

a. b. Fig. 5. The share of the affected localities (a) and of the main affected objectives (b) in the total loss caused by the floods from July 2004 (ISU Hunedoara, 2005b, computed data)

Given the short interval of time in which the events began and unfolded, there were not taken actions to prevent and limit the damage, the only measures of crisis management being the post-event ones (cleaning wells, water drainage, the release of national and county roads, and rehabilitation of damaged bridges). Measures have also been proposed to prevent similar events, such as the rehabilitation and regularization of several brooks (Băniţa, Crivadia, Aninoasa and Merişoara).

a. b. Fig.6. The effects of the floods occurred in July 2005 in the western part of the Petroşani Depression: a. A household from Valea de Brazi affected by the alluvia transported during the flood occurred on the Ţiganilor brook; b. National Road 66A blocked by alluvia between Câmpu lui Neag and Valea de Brazi.

Floods of July 2005. In 9 to 10 July 2005 torrential rain fell in Petrosani Depression (there were recorded 132 mm/m2 in July 9, between 10 to 11 p.m., and 35 mm/m2 during the following hours). The overflowing of several streams and of the Jiul de Vest river at Uricani caused damages to more than 120 households, which were affected in Uricani, Valea de Brazi, Câmpu lui Neag and Lupeni. One casualty was recorded and 14 people were evacuated. The national road 66A was blocked by alluvia over a distance of 1.5 kilometers, between Valea de Brazi şi Câmpu lui Neag (Fig. 6b). The total damage was estimated at more than 1.5 million RON, the worst effects being felt in Uricani, both in town and in surrounding hamlets situated on the slopes, which have been isolated for a week by the obstruction of the access roads (Pietroasa, Valea Paroşenilor, Păroasa, Balomir, Popeşti, Şerponi, Sterminos, Arsa,

103 The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______

Stânconi, Bilugu, Valea de Peşti, and Dodoconi).The people affected in Câmpu lui Neag and Valea de Brazi received government financial aid in September 2005 for the housing and households rehabilitation. According to the local authorities of Uricani, the impact of events could be reduced if the required regularization works would be achieved along Jiul de Vest river and its tributaries. One cause of the failure of these works was the reduction by 45% of funds allocated to the local authorities of Uricani in 2005, compared to the value of 2004. For comparison, in the eastern basin of the Jiu river, the works performed on Răscoala stream after the 2004 floods, have proved effective in preventing its overflow in 2005. Regarding the post-event measures, they were characterized by a series of failures: • Damage assessment was conducted during a long period of time, because of the high number of cases, and there were suspicions of overvaluation (in Lupeni); • Lack of cooperation between the Uricani Local Council, the National Roads Company and the Autonomous Water Company (RAAVJ), which led to delays in the release of national road 66A and difficulties in supplying drinking water to people in isolated hamlets. For the same reasons, delays occurred in removing silt from the local farms, which created the danger of outbreak of epidemics; • Providing emergency medical assistance was impossible, both because of blocked roads and lack of medical staff (the nearest doctor was in Lupeni); Rainfall effects were felt in the Jiu Gorge, where traffic was blocked on July 12 to 13 due to road and rail arteries clogging.

a. b. Fig. 7. a. Flood control works on Jiul de Est River and on Răscoala brook, in the confluence area; b. New buildings, exposed to floods, in the Jiul de Vest floodplain (upstream of Câmpu lui Neag).

Flood prevention and impact mitigation. In the Petroşani Depression, the measures aimed to prevent floods are: torrents adjustments, river regularization and construction of dams. Until present, such works have been performed (Fig. 1) on the rivers Jiul de Vest, Jiul de Est and their tributaries (e.g. Tusu, Crevedia, Valea Ungurului, Aninoasa, Răscoala, Taia, Maleia), having an overall length of approx. 30 km (Urban Proiect, 2003). In the case of regularization works, except those newly made (on Taia, Buta, and Răscoala) it is necessary to check their ability to provide the degree of flood protection for which they were designed. It is worth mentioning the presence of areas where locals have noticed the need of regularization works and, given the lack of local authorities initiatives, they have done so with available materials (e.g. regularization works using mine trucks on Jiul de Est river, at Tirici). Ditches or channels were made within the build-up areas of the cities (in Petrosani, Lupeni, Uricani, Petrila), in order to evacuate the water excess from rainfall, but the storage of waste creates the danger of their obstruction.

104 The Annals of Valahia University of Târgovişte, Geographical Series, Tome 9 / 2009 ______

The potential of river-beds’ obstruction was observed for some river sectors, over which there were developed small units of wood processing (e.g. on the Jiul de Vest river at Câmpu lui Neag). The way in which the floods were managed so far in the Petroşani Depression shows that the impact mitigation requires: the development of functional early-warning systems; an improved cooperation between the decision-makers; the achievement of adequate infrastructure works (i.e. proper sizing of drainage section for bridges and culverts); and setting clear the directions for urban development, which would prohibit the placement of dwellings in flood prone areas (Fig. 7b).

References

***, (2003), Planul de amenajare a teritoriului zonal Valea Jiului, Institutul Naţional de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Urbanism şi Amenajarea Teritoriului – Urban Proiect, Bucureşti, 62 p. ***, (2004), Raportul Comisiei locale de apărare împotriva dezastrelor asupra inundaţiei de la Lupeni, 27.07.2004, Primăria Lupeni ***, (2005), Raport operativ nr. 7/14.07.2005 privind inundaţiile din 9-10 iulie 2005, Comitetul Local pentru Situaţii de Urgenţă al oraşului Uricani *** (2005a), Principalele hazarde care se manifestă pe teritoriul judeţului Hunedoara, ISUJ - Inspectoratul pentru Situaţii de Urgenţă al judeţului Hunedoara *** (2005b), Sinteza evenimentelor din perioada 01.07-28.07.2004, ISUJ - Inspectoratul pentru Situaţii de Urgenţă al judeţului Hunedoara ***, (2003-2007), Arhiva Cotidianului Matinal, www.matinal.comtrust.ro

105