Story perspectives

Low Danube Risks Hungary's Paks; Romania Blasts Rock

8/7/2026

Summary

Paks Plant Shutdown

The Paks Nuclear Power Plant, supplying about 40 % of Hungary’s electricity, risked total shutdown as the Danube fell to –144 cm, below the –134 cm trigger level.
Three reactors were offline while the fourth ran at roughly 50 % capacity on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar warned only a few critical days remain and urged voluntary cuts that saved 600-700 MW daily, leading Hungary to nearly double electricity imports.

Summary

Romanian Army Detonates

The Romanian army detonated a rock in a Danube branch near Izvoarele to increase water flow to the Cernavoda nuclear plant, ending a 30-year clearance effort.
Defence Minister Radu Miruta said the blast succeeded, will aid navigation, and that fragments will be barge-loaded and sunk to form a dam for diversion.
Miruta warned that if the diversion fails, the remaining reactor must be shut down by Thursday, the latest deadline.

History

Historical Context

On March 28 1979, the Three Mile Island Unit 2 suffered a loss-of-coolant accident that caused a partial core melt and released radioactive gases, earning a Level 5 rating on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The incident spurred a nationwide safety overhaul, new NRC regulations and the cancellation of 52 U.S. reactors between 1980 and 1984. Today, low Danube flows threaten Hungary’s Paks and Romania’s Cernavoda plants, recalling the 1979 cooling-water crisis.

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Paks Plant Shutdown

The Paks Nuclear Power Plant, supplying about 40 % of Hungary’s electricity, risked total shutdown as the Danube fell to –144 cm, below the –134 cm trigger level.
Three reactors were offline while the fourth ran at roughly 50 % capacity on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar warned only a few critical days remain and urged voluntary cuts that saved 600-700 MW daily, leading Hungary to nearly double electricity imports.

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