[AP]
[AP]

Record-low water levels in the Danube River have exposed dozens of sunken German warships from World War II.

Rusted hulls and broken masts that once flew Nazi flags were found in the middle of the Danube — which divides Serbia and Romania — and near the Serbian port of Prahovo, AP and Reuters reported Tuesday. Some vessels are still believed to carry weapons.

The ships belonged to Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet and are thought to have been scuttled by German forces as they retreated from Romania in the final stages of World War II. The intention was to slow the Soviet advance through the Balkans, but Nazi Germany surrendered just months later, in May 1945.

The Serbian government had long sought to remove the wrecks with EU financial support. Some were salvaged during the former Yugoslav communist era, but most remain on the riverbed because of the unexploded ordnance they carry.

AP reported the Danube's water level dropped to about 10 centimeters on Monday, well below the previous record low of 33 centimeters set in 2018. With daytime highs exceeding 38 degrees Celsius driving up electricity and water consumption, water levels are not expected to recover anytime soon.

[AP]
[AP]

Romania blasted through bedrock along the Danube on Tuesday to redirect water flow and secure cooling water for its nuclear power plant, Reuters reported.

The country had already shut down one reactor after the Danube's flow fell to roughly one-third of its normal level.

Reuters described "a massive column of water shooting into the sky," calling the operation a sign of "Europe's crisis over power generation amid heat waves and drought."

Meanwhile, Hungary's only nuclear power plant, the Paks facility, which generates about 40 percent of the country's electricity, faces a complete shutdown for the first time in its 44-year history as falling water levels make cooling increasingly difficult.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com