25 juin 2008

Heatwave and unwanted guests

Dear all,

We're havin' a heatwave... Yep, it's hot. Too darn hot. Between 33-37° for the last week. It's true, Rosie and I are quite cool with our air-con (complete with remote control!), but we can't have it running all night - it costs a bomb. Serge says I should set the thermostat. He's quite right, of course. Instead of writing this, I should be busying myself with the instruction booklet. And now, the heatwave has brought cockroaches to the 4th floor, scara D. I've only seen one, but where there's one, there's...eek! Can't bear to think about quite how many may be living with me rent-free. So, back from work this evening, and I attacked the kitchen with Raid, up the walls, skirting boards, around the doors and windows as recommended by Wikipedia on How To Kill Cockroaches (I feel like a murderer), under all the kitchen furniture, oven and fridge. After the advised half hour with kitchen sealed, moved back in, cleaned all surfaces with bleach, poured the same thing down all sinks plus the loo, put all the plugs in as usual (good Feng Shui!), attacked the stove... will have to use the spray every day for around two weeks, says Ruth, who's only just got rid of hers. Yuck! They are foul. It's not their fault I hate them, but hate them I certainly do. I asked them to leave nicely but they wouldn't, so now it's war. Will go get some Boric Acid and paraffin gel tomorrow to make traps...Ugh!

Having talked to plenty of people out in the park on the dog-walking circuit it seems that it's quite normal to have these unwanted residents in blocks during the summer. Normal for who?! Certainly not for me. I loathe the little blighters! But no-one seems particularly hassled by them. I guess people just get used to them. What a horrible thought! It's well known that roaches are a constant problem in Bucharest, and always have been. I'm glad to say, however that they aren't attracted by dirt, which is somewhat comforting! They like humidity. And crumbs. And grease on stoves. I remember we had them at Charing Cross on the top floors, where the bathrooms were very pristine.

I asked my fellow Floreascans if I should call the Town Hall. They cracked up laughing. Well, what then? Pest control? There must be a centre for pest control here. I'll have to check the net. I don't think I'm at an infestation stage, but I don't want to wait until I am. Ugh! What a horrible thought. Anyway, I'll pick the brains of Lucia, Nely, Aura and other friends and then find the best solution. In the meantime, don't expect to be invited for dinner! I'm too nervous to go into my kitchen, just in case Cornel the Cockroach pops out from under the fridge...where I just sprayed...I'm afraid they quite like Raid. After centuries of being persecuted, these disgusting things have found ways of living for three months without food or water and they can even survive without their heads as they breathe through their shells. They're aliens, obviously.

Roll on winter!!!

See below article from Nine O'Clock on our current heatwave.

Romania boiled on the hottest day of the year so far

Dozens of buildings in Bucharest were left without electricity after a power failure in the overloaded network. Under a yellow code warning which was enforced yesterday morning, temperatures went well above 36 degrees Celsius.

Nine O'Clock, issue 4210 p.5, 25/06/2008

Romanians faced yesterday the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures too high for this time of the year. The most affected region was the south of the country, where temperatures in Banat, Oltenia and Muntenia, went above 36 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures in Mehedinti, Dolj, Olt, Teleorman, Giurgiu, Ilfov and Bucharest went above 37 degrees, as a yellow code warning issued by the National Meteorology Administration came in effect yesterday. Temperatures however were expected to go up to ten degrees higher in great cities across the country. In Bucharest, where people had a hard time coping with the heat wave on Monday and dozens of people simply collapsed in the streets because of high temperatures, dozens of buildings in Colentina neigbourhood were left without electricity on Monday night after an overused transformer broke down, a spokesperson for Electrica Muntenia Sud, Cornelia Ion, said. The power cut affected seven blocks of flats. Ion said Electrica teams started working to repair the flaw early yesterday.

“Early yesterday, the broken transformer was removed and replaced with a new one and our team was working to restore connections,” said Ion. She added that the transformer broke down because of a sharp increase in electricity consumption, due to the fact most people plugged in their air conditioning to face the scorching heat.

People affected by the cut said however that such events are quite often lately and that Electrica’s response is growing slower.

The spokesperson said other areas of the Capital might be affected by power cuts during the heat wave. She also said that a significant increase in electricity consumption is expected the following months, because people will use their air conditioning and coolers more intensely. However, the spokesperson gave assurances that the power network is able to handle such a load because, since last year, massive investments were made to reinforce the power lines.

Hot weather is expected to continue the following days in the south of the country, while the rest, especially the north, is expected to face storms and torrential rain, meteorologists said. Meanwhile, in Craiova, three people required ambulance service assistance after fainting in the street, because of extremely high temperatures. The number of requests for medical assistance increased by six per cent yesterday, the Public Health Authority in Dolj said. A total of 57 ambulances were kept on hold, ready to intervene all across the county. In Craiova, four points of assistance were set up in the streets and fifteen other permanent centers of assistance were set up inside medical offices.

In Drobeta Turnu Severin, a 45-year-old man was taken to the hospital after fainting in the street in the afternoon, when temperatures went above 34 degrees. “Because of dehydration, the man felt he could not continue walking and set down on a bench. A passer-by called 112. The man was stabilized and transported to the hospital,” said one of the doctors of the local ambulance service, Amina Nicolicea. Water, fans and medical assistance were also provided for the high-school pupils that are currently taking their graduation exams and for their teachers.

Temperatures went above 30 degrees in mountainous regions as well. In only a couple of hours, the number of calls for medical assistance doubled in Brasov, Realitatea TV said.

by Ion Slavescu

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