site.btaOperational Situation in Bulgaria Relatively Calm, Civil Protection Teams Responding to 30 Alerts - Fire Safety Chief

The operational situation is relatively calm, with teams of the Fire Safety and Civil Protection Directorate General currently responding to 30 alerts, Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov told journalists here on Monday. The head of the Directorate General commented on the continuing rainfall across Bulgaria after a meeting of the Interior Ministry's Operational Headquarters.

Eight of the alerts are for fallen trees. Work continues on removing debris from the October 3 flooding in the Elenite holiday village on the Black Sea coast, Dzhartov told reporters.

The teams have been reinforced, the equipment is in good working order, and patrolling will be stepped up in areas with a red code warning, he added, referring to the expected heavy rainfall.

The situation in Tran is gradually returning to normal, he went on to say. At present, 51 settlements are without electricity. Fallen trees in the municipality of Tran have been removed and all settlements are accessible. The water supply in Tran has been restored, Dzhartov added.

He noted that a meeting had been held between the ministers of interior and regional development and public works, and that the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works would initiate a procedure related to the provision of funds from the EU Solidarity Fund to support the South-East region affected by the floods.

Chief Commissioner Zahari Vaskov, Director of the National Police Directorate General, commented the competent institutions are conducting inspections in connection with the flooding in Elenite. The National Police will get involved at a later stage, he added. The movement of citizens there is restricted until October 8, when the crisis management team will meet to discuss the possible lifting of the measures. At present, there are reports of about 200 people evacuated from Elenite.

Vaskov added that there is constant monitoring by patrols from the regional directorates of the Ministry of Interior at critical points throughout the country, as well as coordination with the relevant authorities.