site.btaGale-Force Wind on Night of Saturday to Sunday Causes Widespread Damage

Gale-Force Wind on Night of
Saturday to Sunday Causes
Widespread Damage


Sofia, January 31 (BTA) - Gale-force wind caused widespread
damage across Bulgaria, especially in the Northwest, on the
night of Saturday to Sunday.

A 30 m/sec wind struck Montana Region during the night, 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
has also suffered a power outage due to the strong wind, the
Kurdjali Regional Administration.

Water levels countrywide are expected to rise most on Sunday,
February 1. A red alert has been issued for the River Toundja at
Yambol and Elhovo. Three regions: Haskovo, Kurdjali and
Smolyan, are on orange alert for dangerous weather, the Ministry
of Environment and Water warned. The National Institute of
Meteorology and Hydrology said that the rivers have reached and
exceeded their high water marks. PK/LG

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