Heatwave kills six Romanians, death toll reaches 15

BUCHAREST, July 22 (Reuters) The death toll from Romania's heat wave rose to 15 today after six more people died in the Black Sea country where temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), Health Minister Eugen Nicolaescu said.

Meteorologists say high temperatures, which could exceed 42 degrees in the southern regions on the Danube river border with Bulgaria, might last until early next week.

A previous two-week long heat wave in June claimed 30 lives, scorched thousands of hectares of farmland and plunged the country's cereal crop to a four-year record low.

Authorities said air conditioning and cooling systems systems, working flat out, have pushed energy consumption toward levels recorded during cold winter months.

Extreme weather in the form of high temperatures and heavy rain hit other countries in the region.

In Hungary, the National Meteorological Service said more local temperature records could be broken today after reaching a record 41.9 Celsius on Friday, but the weather was forecast to turn a few degrees cooler from tomorrow.

Emergency services continued to battle many forest fires around the country over the weekend.

The Budapest Transport Company was cooling tram tracks with water and a popular chair-lift in the Buda hills was closed as it had become unsafe after its cable elongated in the heat.

Tiny ex-Soviet neighbour Moldova, one of Europe's poorest nations, is suffering from the worst drought in 60 years, with day temperatures hovering at a record 41 Celsius.

Severe storms, heavy rains and flooding across Germany left at least one person dead and 10 injured overnight today, German authorities said. An 82-year-old woman in the southern state of Bavaria drowned in her basement apartment when it was flooded.

Rain caused havoc at the European Formula One Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring in western Germany with the race stopped and then re-started after a 22-minute interruption. A half dozen cars skidded out at the first corner of lap three.

And in Switzerland, thunderstorms caused mudslides and floods in cantons in the country's centre for a third day.

Water and mudslides blocked roads and railroads, and a motorway near Interlaken was shut after a rockfall.

Firemen raced to build emergency barriers against the rising water and clear the roads.

REUTERS RJ RAI2156