In the summer of 2005, Romania was covered by waters. More than twenty people had died in the whirl of the waters. Hundreds of villages and hamlets are now lying under the burden of water and mud
Thousand of distressed people have been carried far away from their native lands. Hundreds of homes have been removed from the face of the earth, swept by the floods that, at certain locations, have reached 9 meters in height. Thousand of damaged houses, thousands of animals taken away by the loose water swirls. Roads and bridges have been ruined, water as far as the eye can see. Romania is crying and her tears have blended in the flood coming from the sky.
The extremely serious situation has required more than ever a mobilization of the entire population of the country, a solidarity which was materialized in aid meant to bring back to normal the lives of those who have suffered. To bring back the ray of hope in the sad souls of those who have suffered from the disaster which came upon our country.
Supporting the activities initiated with the help of the Romanian Government, Romfilatelia, the specialized company in issuing and trading Romanian postage stamps is launching the first part of a definitive postage stamp issue Floods – July 2005, under the name of Rainbow of Hope.
The image of the stamp is bringing together in an artistic representation the primordial elements – earth, water and sky, bearing the mark of a rainbow as a symbol of the termination of the Flood and of the covenant made God and Noah.
The Sphinx from Bucegi, a symbol of the permanence of the land and of the Romanian nation, completes the message of the stamp by the words of the Bible carved in stone, describing the rise of the land from under the waters covering it. The face value of the postage stamp is of 0.50 Lei.
