Sawt Falasteen - Severe floods threaten historic Romanian salt mine

The floods in recent days have swollen a stream near the partially inundated salt mine, which has been shut down since 5 May.

The mine is among the biggest tourist attractions in northern Romania, with almost half a million people visiting the site in 2024, and many locals have depended on tourism related to the mine for decades.

"We have to save not just the salt mine there, but the entire community, with thousands of people in danger of not being able to put a loaf of bread on the table," Environment Minister Mircea Fechet told a local TV station Friday, saying "a real tragedy" was hitting the region.

According to the National Salt Company, underground stockpiles of salt "have been compromised, including equipment and machinery that can no longer be recovered".

Due to heavy rainfall in May, the Corund stream near the Praid mine recorded its highest flow rate in the last 30 years, official data this week showed.

But there is no imminent risk of collapse at the mine, said Petres Sandor, an official in Harghita county where the mine is located, which is also home to the largest ethnic Hungarian population in Romania.

"The biggest problem is to stop the possibility of water infiltration in order to start the underground work," he said.

"A very big danger is related to the state of mind of the population. Unfortunately, it's a feeling of the end of the world," Sandor added, urging tourists not to cancel their reservations.

Some locals protested in front of the mine's administrative headquarters on Thursday, voicing anger over preventive measures not having been taken in the past.

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed "financial and practical assistance for the assessment of the damages and reconstruction of the mine" in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

W.AbuLaban--SF-PST