site.btaGale-Force Winds Cause Disruptions across Bulgaria

Gale-Force Winds Cause Disruptions across Bulgaria

November 22 (BTA) - Very strong winds, which in some places blew at a speed of 27 m/s (97 km/h), knocked down dozens of trees onto power facilities and broke power transmission lines across Bulgaria over the weekend, according to reports from the Civil Protection Directorate and the CEZ electricity distribution company.

An airplane flying from Dubai and another one from Valencia, carrying more than 300 passengers in aggregate, were forced to land at Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria, late on Saturday, because the storm prevented them from reaching Sofia. They had to wait for several hours before they could be serviced, as the working hours of Plovdiv Airport are from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. and any landings beyond that time require a prior request. "Plovdiv practically lacks an airport where emergency landings can be performed during the night, but still, we managed to bring in the necessary staff in about an hour," the Airport's CEO Stefan Shturbanov explained.

Orange alert had been issued for 14 of the country's 28 administrative regions on Sunday, and another 11 regions had yellow alert.

In a number of population centres, crews were repairing damage to street networks, removing fallen trees and damaged vehicles, mending roofs and fighting fires.

In the area serviced by CEZ in Western Bulgaria, disruptions to power networks were reported mainly in Sofia, Doupnitsa, Elin Pelin, Svoge, Samokov, Vurshets and Vratsa. Eighty emergency crews were available in the area, including 35 working in Sofia.

The Maritsa East coal mines suspended operation due to the harsh conditions.

Emergency crews were operating in various places together with Civil Protection and Fire Service officers. The strong wind rendered the fire extinguishing efforts very difficult. In the northwest of the country, 50 hectares of grass and bushes burned in the vicinity of Berkovitsa, 20 hectares near Montana and 15 hectares near Vurshets.

The seaport of Varna was closed to manoeuvring as wind speeds there reached 10.6 m/s (38.2 km/h), with occasional gusts exceeding 13 m/s (47 km/h), the Ship Traffic Administration said.

Gale-force winds were also reported high up in the mountains.