More Flooding in Southern Bulgaria, Snow Drifts Close Roads in Northeast
Bulgaria continues to struggle with severe weather conditions for yet another day as swollen rivers flooded more areas in the southeast of the country, leaving hundreds without home, while snow drifts closed roads in the northeast of the country.
After heavy rainfall in the past days, a dike on Maritsa river broke on Tuesday, sending a high flood wave towards the village of Generalovo and the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint with Turkey. In a residential district of Svilengrad, near the border with Greece, the water reached a height of 1.5 metres, the defence ministry said. Parts of the town of Lyubimets too were inundated, Darik radio reported.
Hundreds of villages are left without electricity, the local power distribution company said on Tuesday. Water supply to Svilengrad, as well as a number of villages, has been cut off, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.
On Wednesday morning the water had started to recede but the area remained under emergency situation, the Bulgarian National Television reported.
On Monday the floods claimed eight lives and submerged a village under three metres of water. Two people are still missing.
Wednesday was declared day of mourning for the victims.
Meanwhile, heavy snowfall and wind blasting at a speed of 100 km/k closed roads in the northeast of the country, cutting of hundreds of villages. Police and army patrols are helping out stranded cars, the Bulgarian National Television reported.
The ports of Varna and Balchik are closed. Ice blocks obstruct shipping along the Danube at Ruse, where Danube Bridge remains closed to traffic.