Drone alerts reach six counties in north-eastern Romania
On 31 October, two drones entered Romanian airspace and residents of Iași, Neamț, Vaslui, Bacău, Botoșani and Suceava received RO-Alert messages. The alert ended at 19:19, with no crashes reported at that point.
What happened
On the evening of Saturday 31 October, Romania’s defence ministry said two drones had entered the country’s airspace without authorisation. The first RO-Alert phone message went out at 17:04 in northern Iași county, and alerts then spread across six counties, the last being Suceava at 18:44. Airspace over Iași closed for a while and one incoming flight was diverted. One drone left the country and the other was last seen between Vaslui and Bacău. Alerts ended at 19:19, with no crashes reported at that time.
Why it matters
Drone alerts in Romania are usually associated with the Danube border, but this one reached six counties much further north. The message does not always say which area is at risk or for how long. That is true of phone alerts in many countries, so it helps to decide in advance what you would do in the first minute.
What you can do
- Pick your shelter spot now: a cellar or public shelter if one is close, otherwise an inner room away from windows and outside walls (see Air raid and drone alerts: taking shelter and Basement as a shelter).
- If you live in Romania or visit often, look up the nearest shelter in our county lists, in Romanian.
- Check your phone’s emergency alert settings so messages get through (see Sirens, alerts and shelters).
- Never go near anything that falls from the sky. Call 112 and rely on official sources.
Helpful guides
- Emergencies Air raid and drone alerts: taking shelter What to do when an air raid siren sounds or a phone alert warns of an aerial threat: the safest spot in an apartment, the two-wall rule, what to do outdoors or in a car, how to set up a shelter corner and what to do with drone debris.
- Emergencies Sirens, alerts and shelters How public warning systems work, why you should never turn off emergency alerts on your phone, how to find your nearest shelter and what to take with you.
- Home Basement as a shelter How to turn a basement or cellar into a shelter for air-raid alerts, tornadoes or radiation warnings: what to check about the structure, air and flooding, what to keep there (water, light, a toilet, places to sleep) and what never to do.