Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleSevere floods threaten Romania's Praid salt mine, a major tourist site, risking local livelihoods. Efforts are underway to protect the mine.
PRAID, Romania (Reuters) -Severe floods in Romania are threatening to destroy the Praid salt mine, one of Europe's largest salt reserves which attracts half a million tourists each year with its spectacular galleries housing an adventure park and chapel carved in salt.
Authorities have shut down the mine as the worst floods in 30 years in the central Romanian county of Harghita have swollen a nearby stream, further flooding part of the mine.
The floods are threatening to destroy the livelihood of people in the town of Praid who have relied on tourism centred around the salt mine for decades, local authority officials said.
"A problem with the salt mine can have catastrophic consequences for the entire region," said Csongor Zsombori, head accountant at the Praid branch of the state-controlled National Salt Company S.A. which partly owns the mine.
While part of the mine has been producing salt, with an annual production capacity of around 70,000-100,000 metric tons, its huge galleries which also house a medical centre, receive tourists, including for medical treatment for respiratory diseases.
Laszlo Nyagrus, mayor of Praid, said the miners have removed their equipment and machines and were working to preserve another part of the mine which has not been open to visitors so far.
"They are trying to save this area, these galleries, by building so-called sluices and dams to protect it, so that at least this part ... will not be damaged," he said.
"We need to look at what can be done very quickly in the tourism sector, what opportunities can be explored or should be explored, so that we can retain as many tourists as possible in Praid."
(Reporting by Emoke Kerekes;Writing by Krisztina Than; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Severe floods in Romania are threatening to destroy the Praid salt mine, which is experiencing the worst flooding in 30 years.
The Praid salt mine attracts around half a million tourists each year.
Miners have removed their equipment and are working to preserve parts of the mine by building sluices and dams to prevent further damage.
The closure of the mine could have catastrophic consequences for the local economy, as many residents rely on tourism centered around the salt mine.
The mine has an annual production capacity of around 70,000 to 100,000 metric tons of salt.
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