A DAY OF MOURNING FOR THE FLOOD VICTIMS IN BOURGAS

8th of September has been declared a day of mourning for the victims of the flooding. Two women and a man were killed by the devastating floodwaters on Friday, 5th of September, in the Bulgarian Black Sea region of Bourgas. About 90 litres per sq. m. of rain fell that night over a period of one hour.

The two volunteers who helped to pull people out of submerged cars and saved the life of several will be proposed for rewards by the Mayor of Bourgas.

The huge amount of rainfall is one of the reasons for the flood tragedy in Bourgas, but an inspection will be carried out to check what triggered the flooding and if it resulted from illegal constructions.

Meanwhile the state of emergency in the regions of the towns of Dimitrovgrad, Harmanli and Simeonovgrad in South Bulgaria remains in place after the flooding in the recent days.

The levee of Maritsa river near the village of Rainovo in the region of Dimotrovgrad broke on Sunday, 7th of September, but there is no risk for the residents. The situation in those flood affected areas is getting back to normal and there were no incidents during the night.

The water level of Maritsa River continues to be monitored. The critical overflow level is 7 metres. At places the water has already risen to over 4 metres. Therefore the municipalities near the river are in readiness to deal with a possible surge. The Turkish authorities have also been informed about the Maritsa river level.

The broken levee have caused flooding of 2000 acres of agricultural land.

The road surface between the towns of Dimitrovgrad and Siemonovgrad has been damaged and the road has collapsed in the section leading to the village of Zlatopole. Urgent repairs are expected to take place. If the torrential rains stop and there are no critical situations, the state of emergency in Dimitrovgrad will be lifted, the Mayor Ivo Dimov said.