site.btaSnowfall Causes Power Outages, Road Closures in Lovech Region

Several settlements in Lovech Region were left without power supply due to snowfall, the electricity distribution company reported on Wednesday.

A broken power line on the main road Sofia - Varna, in the area of the village of Balgarene, left without electricity the villages of Stefanovo, Balgarene, Malinovo, Dabrava. Teams of the electricity distribution company working to resume power and police are on the scene.

Power outages were reported in Apriltsi and Yablanitsa, as well as part of Troyan and the of Belish, Borima, Vrabevo, Golyama Zhelyazna, Gumoshtnik and Debnevo, Dobrodan, Dalbok Dol, Kaleytsa, Lomets and Staro Selo.

There are also power outages in the town of Teteven and the nearby villages of Babintsi, Golyam Izvor, Divchovoto and Cherni Vit, as well as the villages of Mikre, Sopot, Golets and Lesidren in Ugarchin Municipality.

The Mayor of Lovech municipality, Stratsimir Petkov, told BTA that the Kazachevo - Gorno Pavlikeni road was closed due to fallen rocks. The remaining roads are open and passable in winter conditions. According to him, because of the fallen power line on the road Sofia - Varna, traffic may be limited while the line is repaired.

Due to heavy snowfall, traffic is restricted for all motor vehicles through the Shipkovo - Ribaritsa pass, where the snow cover reached over 30 cm, said the head of the regional road maintenance, Georgi Genov. He added that the Troyan Pass also remains closed due to snowfall and drifts.

Almost the entire region is covered with snow, but the remaining roads are passable in winter conditions. A total of 48 machines are currently clearing the national road network.

The hydrometeorological station in Lovech told BTA that the most snow has accumulated in Apriltsi and the village of Shipkovo. In the morning the snow cover there was over 20 centimeters.

In Apriltsi there has been no power supply for three or four hours, as the falling snow has broken the power lines in several places, the Municipal Mayor, Tihomir Kukensky, told BTA.

"The snow is not much, but it is heavy. Teams of the power distribution company are working on fixing the breakdowns," Kukensky said. According to him, the roads are passable in winter conditions.