Due to heavy floods which covered Maramures last weekend, Vaser Valley was washed away. The narrow gauge train line was destroyed. The steam engine train ("Mocanita") doesn't go up anymore.
In 26 of July, the floods destroyed kilometres of train rails. Many bridges were destroyed. At that time, on train were 192 people, which were blocked at Faina. They slept there, and at Bardau and Novicior forest camps, whithout clothes, food, medicins or any help from outside. There is no cell phone signal, nor other sorts of communications. Even radio stations were out.
Only the second evening (27 of July), the tourists received help from Police and Gendarmery (a team marched by foot, through the water, for 22 km to reach the camps).
Fortunately, all the tourists were alive, only a Belgium women was sick.
Part of tourists went down to Viseu de Sus by foot, and the others were evacuated by helicopters.
On the same time, on Vaser Valley died 4 people (three due to a landslide, and one teenager fell into the river.
In Viseu de Sus town is disaster. Many parts of the town are still isolated, without any acces and without electricity. The entire Vaser Valley is isolated.
Sighetu Marmatiei town is out of running water, since 27 of July (due to Tisa river floods, which destroyed the town's water plant.
The trains which link Sighetu Marmatiei to Cluj, Timisoara and Bucharest, can't reach the town (the rails were destroyed on several places). So, the trains go now only to Viseu de Jos station (which can be reached from Sighet only by bus or car.
The situation will become normally as follows:
-The Sighetu Marmatiei running water will come back in three weeks.
-The rail between Sighetu Marmatiei and Bucharest will become operational again, in several months.
-The "Mocanita" steam engine train, will restart, maybe, next year...
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I was at Vaser Valley on the train when the heavy floods ware coming. I have to sleep in a cabane of the forestiers. I am the Belgian woman that was sick. There was also a doctor and a paramedic from EMA that marched by foot with the gendarmery and the firebrigade. It ware volunteers. I had a very hig fever and a tremendous headache and pain in my neck. The doctor was thinking of menigitis. My friend must take wet cloths on my chest and on my head so I could cool down. It worked! The fever was going away. The next day he came to me around 6 am to see if I was oké. I was much better, but he still want me to go to the hospital. I must go with the first helicopter. They took me to the hospital at Viseu de sus, but there they called the heli from Maru Mures because they did'nt know what to do with me. There was no material enough to examine me. So I must go back to the ambulance and they took me to the field were the heli was already to take me to the hospital in Maru Mures. There I had to stay for 2 days. It was'nt menigitis. Thanks God! It was dehydrytation, exhaustion and pneumonia. I get medication and the wednesday afternoon I could go away. I chat with the doctor and he told me that they would close the valley because it wil cost to much to repair the railway. I hope the European people will help to get that butiful place back!
Thank you Krissie for your comment. We knew about you and your ilness, and we worried about you, but we are happy now, you OK!
About Vaser Valley: The railway reparations will cost around 5,5 million euros. Our government will give soon at least 300.000 euros (maybe 1 million), to repair the first 15 km of rails (to Delta Novat). So, the touristic trains will be able to travel, in the late autumn or next spring, until Novat.
Good news, isnt't it?
We hope you will come again in Maramures!
that's good news! I wrote a petitionletter to the ambasador of Romania in our country with every detail of wat happened on Vaser Valley. So he/she can insist on repair the Valley so the tourist wll come again. I will sertainly tell everyone that I know that Romania is a beautiful country with very nice people! Because that is what I have experienced in the little time that we ware here. In the hospital the people ware very nice, though it was not easy for them to have a patient that could not speak or understand a word of their own language. I thank everybody there, especialy the student that was in the room next to mine. He translated for me.
We will sertainly come back to Romania, because I think it's a beautiful country with very nice people. And what happened in Vaser Valley could happen everywhere. Especially in the mountains.
I want to thank all the members of the rescueteam. Especially the volunteers of the EMA. If it was'nt for them I could not writing this. They all did a tremendous job!
Many greetings from Kristien
Buna. Ma bucur ca am dat de acest blog. Si eu sunt din Viseu de Sus si chiar imi doresc sa fac ceva pentru acest frumos oras. Vizitati: http://turismeco.bravehost.com
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