3 weeks ago
An intense heatwave and prolonged drought have caused the Danube River to drop to record-low levels, exposing several long-submerged Nazi warships from the World War II era. The receding waters of Europe's second-longest river have made the vessels visible to onlookers.
In Serbia, social media footage captured the massive shipwrecks resting in the water and along a sand ridge near the village of Prahovo. These rusting hulks are part of a German flotilla scuttled in 1944 during a retreat from the advancing Soviet Red Army, and they reportedly continue to pose a hazard to navigation. Further along the river, the wreckage of a Hungarian cargo ship that sank in 1937 has resurfaced near the Croatian village of Opatovac.
According to the European Investment Bank, as many as 200 vessels may be lying at the bottom of the Danube. The record-low water levels have nearly halted river transport, according to Hungary's Transport Ministry.
The drought is also threatening regional energy supplies. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar warned that the Paks nuclear power plant, which generates nearly half of Hungary's electricity, could be forced to shut down for weeks due to insufficient water levels for cooling.
In Budapest, Hungary's national weather authority recorded a historic low water level of just 23 centimeters, breaking the previous record of 33 centimeters set in 2018. The low water levels also led to the discovery of a German World War II artillery shell near Margaret Bridge, a major traffic artery in the capital. The find prompted temporary safety closures in the area while a bomb disposal team was deployed.
Further downstream in northern Bulgaria, the drying riverbed
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