RISCURI ùI CATASTROFE, NR. XI, VOL. 11, NR. 2/2012 190 THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATIC FACTORS UPON THE FLASH-FLOODS OCCURING IN THE SUPERIOR BASIN OF THE RIVER MUREù NICOLETA DANIELA GORON 1 , MARIUS CIGHER 1 , RADU NEGRU 1 ABSTRACT. –The Influence of climatic factors upon the flash-floods occuring in the superior basin of the river Mureú . The floods triggering factors in the upper river basin of the Mures are likely climatic in which case the analysis is based upon a string of data representative for the period 1986-2010, for eight stations and making reference to average rainfall, maximum rainfall within 24 hours, the thickness and duration of snow.The floods in the upper basin of the Mureú do not cause major damage, except in exceptional cases. Most localities that have reported damage caused by floods are located near the TopliĠa-Deda gorge, an area that influences flow concentration through a relatively narrow territory compared to the upstream territory where the Mureú river gathers its tributaries. Key words: the influence of precipitation upon the formation of flash-floods 1. General considerations The superior river basin of Mureú is situated in the central-north part of the country on the territories of the counties of Harghita and Mureú, bordered by the river basin of Someúul Mare at the North-West, the Siret river basin at the East side and the Olt river basin at its sounthern side. A major influence upon the formation and evolution of flash-floods within the superior river basin of Mureú (fig 1) is played by the climatic factors which in turn are influenced by the geomorphologic factors. This is exemplified by two areas mainly the gorge area of TopliĠa-Deda characterized through the concentration of humid air masses within a narrow space implying a higher pressure upon the hydrodynamics and a second area, the Giurgeu Hollow (fig 1) where the air masses now depleted of precipitation and the lesser concentration effect induced by the geomorphologic elements pose a lesser pressure upon the formation and evolution of flash-floods. 1 “Dimitrie Cantemir” University, Faculty of Geography, Târgu Mureú, Romania, e-mail: dana_goron@yahoo.com; cighermarius@yahoo.com; negrurg@yahoo.com