After the Floods in 'Elenite' Resort: Inspections along Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast Reveal Numerous Violations

Nearly a month after a destructive flood swept through the Elenite holiday resort on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, authorities have acknowledged the absence of key construction documentation for the site. Ongoing inspections along the coastline have uncovered buried waterways, unauthorised building works and compromised flood-defence structures. Meanwhile, property owners in Elenite are preparing collective legal claims, seeking accountability for what they say were years of concealed irregularities that contributed to the disaster.

Residents say the flood exposed long-standing problems. Checks by the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) have found no records for the approval of construction projects at the resort in the ministry’s regional archive.

Photos by BTA

Minister of environment, Manol Genov, confirmed that no planning documents were located at the Regional Inspectorate in Burgas.

Manol Genov, Minister of Environment and Water, said: “We did not find a single document in the RIEW-Burgas archives for any of the construction carried out there. The Basin Directorate has existed since 2012, and it appears the development was completed before then – but there is not a single record of those projects ever being approved.”
“None of the constructions there are supported by documents in our archives,” he said, adding that only refusals and one terminated referral to the prosecutor’s office were found.

Manol Genov, Minister of Environment and Water, said: “As for the construction itself – you know there are already prosecutorial checks and pre-trial proceedings under way. We are ready to cooperate and provide all the documentation and information we have, whenever requested.”

Subsequent inspections by the authorities uncovered further violations.

Yavor Dimitrov, Director of the Basin Directorate "Black Sea Region"-Varna: "Water bodies can be covered, but they cannot be built on. Construction is not allowed on the covered areas either. In the case of 'Elenite' resort, after the riverbed was covered, buildings and structures were built on the covered section."

After the flooding in Elenite, inspections were expanded along the entire Black Sea coast, revealing riverbeds filled with waste and damaged embankments.

Yavor Dimitrov, Director of the Black Sea Basin Directorate in Varna, said: “We are also coming across infrastructure decisions that are deeply concerning. Not because covering watercourses is illegal — the law permits it — but because it appears to have been done without clear engineering parameters. We cannot assess whether these alterations to water bodies would withstand high water levels in the future.”

There are also covered waterways in 'Sveti Vlas' resort.

Yavor Dimitrov, Director of the Black Sea Basin Directorate in Varna, said: “The terrain there is mountainous, with large catchment areas and steep slopes. This leads to fast surface runoff and, as the gullies enter built-up areas, all the watercourses have been altered and channelled into pipes.”

Meanwhile, residents are preparing to file claims for the damage to their property.

Stanislava, a property owner in Elenite, said: “We will most likely file a collective claim, which all owners should first discuss together. We bear no responsibility whatsoever. Suddenly it turns out that, as a result of unlawful actions by those in power, chief architects and so on, an institutional disaster has unfolded.”

And as the authorities search for documents and residents seek justice, the question of who is to blame remains unanswered.

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