DAMAGES ASSESSMENT ASSOCIATED TO THE FLOOD EVENT WHICH OCCURRED ON 11-14 JULY 1999 IN THE RÂUL MARE BASIN

One of the most destructive phenomena among natural disasters that manifest in the mountainous regions are flash floods. In Retezat Mts. area these phenomena have caused major damages to private and public properties, environmental problems and even human losses. On the 11-14 July 1999 there was an extreme event caused by huge amount of rainfalls which have locally exceeded 240 mm in 20 hours. The meteorological and hydrological conditions corroborated to catchments characteristics had determined flash floods occurrences on the streams and torrents of Retezat slopes. Moreover, hydrological phenomena have triggered other processes like debris floods and debris flows causing 13 casualties and enormous economical damages, as the hydro-energetic Raul Mare-Retezat system and Gura Apelor dam was also affected. The assessment of the flash floods effects offers a general view of the magnitude of these events and emphasizes the necessity in developing mitigation plans and countermeasures in order to minimized future consequences