Severe overnight floods in eastern Romania killed three elderly people and damaged thousands of homes, with hundreds of people evacuated and four helicopters searching for stranded villagers, officials said on Monday.

Hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes as Romania’s rescue services deployed teams in the hard-hit counties of Neamt and Suceava. Helicopters and firefighters rescued residents, some of whom were trapped in their homes by floodwaters. Authorities said that 890 people were evacuated from Neamt County.