site.btaGale-Force Wind, Torrential Rains Claim Two Casualties, Two People Are Unaccounted For

Gale-Force Wind, Torrential Rains
Claim Two Casualties,
Two People Are Unaccounted For


Sofia, February 1 (BTA) - Gale-force wind caused widespread
damage across Bulgaria, especially in the Northwest, on the
night of Friday to Saturday. The situation in Eastern and
Southern Bulgaria deteriorated further on Sunday because of
torrential rains. As a result, two people have died and another
two are missing.

The police said that a woman died in the region of Rousse on
Saturday after a tree fell over a car. A 47-year old man from
the village of Ilindentsi, Stroumiani Municipality, drowned. A
nine-year old child that was with him is missing, the police in
Blagoevgrad said. In Petrich, a 30-year old woman is missing
after she took her dog for a walk along the river on Sunday.

The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that Interior Minister
Vesselin Vouchkov has convened an operational taskforce with the
Fire Safety and Protection of Population Service.

The situation in the regions of Bourgas, Smolyan, Kurdjali,
Haskovo, Varna and Montana has deteriorated due to the strong
winds and torrential rains.

A 30 m/sec wind struck Montana Region during the night to
Saturday, said Regional Governor Ivailo Petrov. A state of
disaster has been declared in Vurshets Municipality. The gale
there brought down trees and power line poles, stripped roofs
and blocked roads with branches and tree chunks. Part of the
villages in the municipality have been left without electricity
because of ruptured power lines. In most settlements, cars have
been smashed by fallen trees and roof debris and window panes
have been shattered. Mobile telephone communications were
disrupted as well.

A 150 km/h wind mowed dozens of trees in the town park of
Vurshets, which is the country's second largest after the Boris
Garden in Sofia, municipality Mayor Ivan Lazarov told an
extraordinary news conference. The trees were planted between 80
and 100 years ago.

On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev visited
Vurshets to inspect the wind-caused damage.

In Rousse (on the Danube), the wind velocity reached 144 km/h on
Saturday morning. No serious damage is reported.

A house collapsed in the Village of Drangovo, Kurdjali Region
(South Central Bulgaria), the Regional Administration said. The
strong wind broke power line, disrupting electricity supply to
24 settlements in the Kurdjali Region.

The Makaza-Nymphea Checkpoint on Bulgaria's border with Greece
also suffered a power outage due to the strong wind, the
Kurdjali Regional Administration said.

Following Sunday's torrential rains a partial state of emergency
was declared in Bourgas where 120 houses, basements and yards
have been flooded. The entire area of Dolno Ezerovo is under
water, which reaches between 50 and 80 cm.

A state of emergency has been declared in the municipality
of Smolyan. A plan has been put in place to evacuate the
population and build dykes in high-risk areas. Deputy Prime
Minster Tomislav Donchev and Defence Minister Nikolai Nenchev
visited Smolyan to familiarize themselves with the problems
caused by the floods.

A state of emergency has been declared also in eight
villages in the Municipality of Aksakovo and parts of Dobrich
Municipality, according to the regional safety council. Mayor
Ivan Alexiev said that the situation in the Black Sea town of
Pomorie has been critical in the past 24 hours because of
torrential rains and strong winds.

In Kurdjali Region rain quantities exceeded 200 l per 1 sq m,
according to the regional administration.

Dams in Southern and Eastern Bulgaria have been overflowing or
their waters are released but there are no critical situations,
according to the Environment Ministry. Landslides have been
reported in many regions.

***

A SUV vehicle fell in the swollen River Devinska near Devin
(Southern Bulgaria) and the two passengers are believed to have
died, the police in Smolyan said. The vehicle was found some 3
km down stream. It is unknown whether the accident is related to
the higher river levels. PK/LG,PP


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