Video: In Romania, the Danube riverbed was blasted to supply water to a nuclear power plant

On Sunday, August 2, the Romanian Ministry of Defense launched a military operation to blast away rock in the Danube riverbed. The main goal is to redirect the flow of water to ensure adequate cooling of the country’s only nuclear power plant in Cernavodă.

The first two controlled explosions did not produce the desired result, as the bedrock proved to be harder than previous calculations had predicted. 

According to Rear Admiral Marcel Neculae, deputy commander of the Romanian Navy, once combat divers have conducted an additional analysis of the riverbed, work will resume on Monday with a gradual increase in the power of the explosive charges. More than 100 military personnel and 16 pieces of specialized equipment are involved in the special operation.

Source: Romanian Ministry of Defense.

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that the country is facing a critical period in the energy sector due to a record drop in the Danube’s water level. The last operational power unit at the country’s only nuclear power plant, Paks, is at risk of a forced shutdown, as the river level near the plant has dropped to minus 133 cm, with the critical threshold set at minus 134 cm.

In Budapest, authorities have decided to limit the speed of the metro and trams to reduce electricity consumption. A new schedule will be implemented on city transit lines, under which metro cars and trams will accelerate more slowly.