Since the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Greece, Romanians have remembered that there are chances a big tremor may hit Bucharest, too. The last really big one hit in 1977, killing over 1,500. The big yellow star represents the most recent shock. It's updated every seven minutes, and most quakes are in the Vrancea region, northwest of Bucharest. The electric current is 220 volts AC, 50hz.
Sockets take European plugs with two round pins.
Make sure you regularly save your work, however, as the lights still suddenly go out from time to time. Smoke l Toilets l Visas Health Make sure you have a good health insurance plan before you arrive, as state hospitals are not up to Western standards. For more information and private services, see Useful Addresses . The 10,000 and 500,000 lei notes are plastic, and if all goes according to plan, all Romanian banknotes will be plastic by the end of 2002. It's not now an an uncommon nor unpleasant experience to visit an exchange booth, though you will often need your passport to change money.