site.btaCaretaker Government Seeks Ways to Help Victims of Mizia Flooding

Sofia, August 6 (BTA) - Caretaker Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki told journalists on Wednesday that the fund offsetting disaster damage has only a few million leva. Other options are being sought, money is being transferred from other programmes to help flood victims in Mizia (Northern Bulgaria). Work on the application forms is speeded up so as to quickly assess the damage and get funds from the EU Solidarity Fund.

The swelling Skut River flooded Mizia last weekend, claiming two lives. Dozens of homes were destroyed and many more are uninhabitable.

Bliznashki said all the ministers accepted his suggestion to  donate 300 leva (about 150 euro) from their first salary to the  people of Mizia.

Interior Minister Yordan Bakalov and Social Policy Minister Yordan Hristoskov will visit the flooded region on Thursday. The Prime Minister will do so later.

It had long been known there would be a tidal wave but nothing was done, said Bakalov.

Water is being pumped out of the town's drainage system with powerful pumps to quickly lower its level and speed up emergency operations, said Vassil Vassilev, Deputy Director of the Fire Safety and Population Protection Service. The flood water went down about 50 cm in some parts of the town, but remains high in the lowest parts, said Vassilev.

The Bulgarian Red Cross has launched direct fund-raising for the flood victims in Mizia.

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At its first meeting Wednesday, the new Bulgarian government decided to propose to President Rosen Plevneliev to award the Order of the Balkan Range, First Class, to German Ambassador to Sofia Matthias Hoepfner and former French Ambassador Philippe Autie, the Government Information Service reported.

The highest Bulgarian state honour will be conferred on the two foreign diplomats for their contribution to the promotion of bilateral relations between their respective countries and Bulgaria and for their active support for strengthening civil society in this country.

Last year, Hoepfner and Autie supported the antigovernment protests in Bulgaria. When Autie's ambassadorial term expired last autumn, he was denied the usual Bulgarian state distinction. According to unofficial information, the denial was due to the French diplomat's role in the antigovernment protests. Hoepfner's term will expire in a matter of days.