ABSTRACT. – The social effects related to floods in the East of the Apuseni Mountains. The territories affected by floods have attracted inhabitants for hundreds and even thousands of years, for the very reason that these locations have also positive aspects. As Wisner, B., 2004 observed, the inhabitants of the respective territories were drawn into a complex ‘trade-offs’ (sometimes having catastrophic consequences), within which inhabitants benefited of all the advantages of such locations (plain land, fertile soils, water etc.), with the risk of sometimes being affected by severe floods and overflows. During 1995-2006 (period chosen for analyzing the social effects induced by the floods), the East of the Apuseni Mountains was affected by the floods which generated damages almost every year. Counting the direct damages generated by the floods in the region during the above mentioned period, the total summed 75.624 mil. $. The negative aspects occurred during floods can result by an unfortunate association of variables which refer to the physical environment, local economy and public institutions’ efficiency. The effects determined by fluvial floods evolve at several levels: social, economical and ecological. Among the social effects (debated in this paper), the most sensitive issue is associated to the losses of human lives. As a result of the authorities questioning in the 35 local administrative-territorial units, the conclusion was that during the last 90 years there were 22 life losses, as a direct effect of floods and/or inundation. As social effects we mention also the activities of population evacuation, the effects of educational activities interruption (e.g. the educational process) or destruction/deterioration of socio-cultural assets (museums, medical and educational entities, houses of culture etc.) and households etc.
Key - words: floods, social effects, damages, strategies, Apuseni Mountains.