The remnants of Nazi ships laden with explosives, sunk during World War Two, have resurfaced near the Serbian river port town of Prahovo. This occurred due to the drought in July and August, which significantly lowered the water levels of the Danube River.
Additionally, four vessels dating back to before 1950 have been revealed in Hungary’s Danube-Drava National Park near Mohacs. On Tuesday, September 10, the Danube’s water level reached a mere 1.5 meters, a consequence of the intense heatwaves and prolonged drought experienced during July and August.
The vessels discovered in Prahovo were part of hundreds scuttled along the Danube by the Black Sea fleet in 1944 during their retreat from advancing Soviet forces. The act of destroying their ships significantly hampered river traffic during periods of low water levels.
Scattered across the riverbed, some of the ships still display turrets, command bridges, broken masts, and twisted hulls. Others lie mostly submerged beneath sand banks.
Endre Sztellik, a guard at the Danube-Drava National Park, commented on one of the ships in Hungary, saying, “We still don’t know what this is exactly. What is visible and is an unfortunate fact is that the wreck is diminishing as people are interested in it and parts of it are going missing.”
On Tuesday, the Danube stood at 1.17 meters (3.8 feet), which is considerably higher than the all-time record low of around 0.4 meters registered in October 2018. During floods, the Danube rises significantly, surpassing 6 meters.
“Eastern Europe is experiencing critical drought conditions that are affecting crops and vegetation,” stated the European climate service Copernicus on its website in its latest drought report published earlier this month.
Long-awaited rainfall commenced on Monday, September 9. This precipitation is expected to raise Danube levels to approximately three meters at Mohacs by the weekend, likely submerging the shipwrecks once again.