European Drought Burns On - Danube Closed To Shipping

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Weeks of drought, heat are drying up European economy
By Alexandru Alexe
07/29/03

BUCHAREST, Romania - "A heat wave and a drought are gouging a multibillion-dollar hole in Europe's economy, crippling shipping, shriveling crops and driving up the cost of electricity.

In Romania, dredgers dug into the Danube on Monday to deepen the river bed for hundreds of stalled barges, while in Croatia, five tons of dead fish polluted a lake. Levels on the Danube were less than six feet near Bazias in southwestern Romania, more than a yard below the minimum needed for barge traffic. At the southern port of Zimnicea, dredges scooped up sludge from the river bed Monday, attempting to deepen navigation channels for the 251 ships waiting to move upstream to key markets in central and northern Europe.

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Farm lobby groups in the European Union say the drought has cost more than $5.7 billion in losses. Hardest hit within the group have been Italy, France, Germany, Portugal and Austria, where farmers' representatives warn of harvests up to 60 percent below normal yields for some crops.

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Southern and eastern France have been hard hit by the drought, without significant rainfall in about two months. As river levels dip, several regions including central Loire and southern Hautes-Alpes, have banned fishing until Sept. 21."

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch