site.bta Torrential Rains Prompt State of Disaster in Bourgas, Gabrovo, Snowfall Disrupts Road Traffic

Torrential Rains Prompt State of Disaster in Bourgas, Gabrovo, Snowfall Disrupts Road Traffic

Sofia, October 25 (BTA) - Alerts about very dangerous rain and
snowfall levels have been issued for five administrative regions
in Southeastern Bulgaria: Smolyan, Kurdjali, Haskovo, Bourgas
and Yambol, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology
with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences reported on Saturday.

A state of disaster has been declared in Bourgas (on the Black
Sea), owing to torrential rains, and in Gabrovo (Central
Bulgaria), because of the severe winter conditions.

Due to the heavy rainfall, rivers overflow in Haskovo Region and
the dams are in a critical condition.

The first snowfall brought down a number of trees onto
electricity transmission network facilities and caused outages.
The worst-hit areas in this respect are the municipalities of
Troyan (North Central Bulgaria) and Samokov (Southwestern
Bulgaria), as well as the southern part of Sofia at the foot of
Mt Vitosha, CEZ said in a press release. The company's repair
teams are busy reconnecting power supply.

Train services in some parts of the country has been upset by
the heavy rainfall.

By order of Interior Minister Yordan Bakalov and Interior
Ministry Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov, a situation centre
has been set up at the Chief Directorate of Fire Safety and
Civil Protection to respond to the extreme weather.

Trucks and cars are congesting the Trakia Motorway in a
kilometres-long line in the direction from Sofia to Plovdiv.
Traffic on the Hemus Motorway from Sofia to Botevgrad has been
suspended due to snow drifts, the Road Infrastructure Agency
said.

Snow chains are mandatory for all motor vehicles driving through
the mountain passes of Petrohan, Prevala, Rozhen and Pamporovo,
and trucks with trailers and semi-trailers are not allowed.
Heavy snow and high wind reduce visibility in the Shipka Pass.