site.btaDamaged Field Crops after Hailstorm Hits Sliven and Stara Zagora

Field crops and perennial crops in the municipalities of southeastern municipalities of Tvarditsa and Nova Zagora were damaged by hailstorms on April 25, Todor Bratanov, Director of the Regional Directorate Agriculture in Sliven, told BTA on Friday.

"We have informed farmers that they can submit applications to the Regional Directorate and the municipal offices for benefits", Bratanov pointed out. An inspection will be carried out by a committee, with farmers with 100% failed areas entitled to benefits.

There are no reports of damage to buildings, cars or injured people, said Tvarditsa Mayor Maria Gvozdeikova-Zlateva. Crops were affected in some villages where hailstones about two centimetres in diameter were reported.

There are no serious signals in Stara Zagora Region after the rains, said Mihail Mihov, head of the Operational Center at the Regional Directorate Fire Safety and Protection of the Population in Stara Zagora. "There are broken branches and destroyed crops, but the Directorate has not received reports of incidents that disrupt daily life", he said.

Chirpan Deputy Mayor Rumen Tunanov said to BTA that about five hundred acres of crops were affected by yesterday's hailstorms in the village of Zetivo. Fruit trees were also affected, most of them cherry trees. He pointed out that there had been hail the size of walnuts, but luckily no cars, buildings or other material damage was reported.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food formed an expert commission with representatives of the Regional Directorates of Agriculture to immediately examine the damage to the plantations. According to preliminary data, the most affected agricultural areas are in the regions of Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Sliven.