Nearly 1,500 Hail Suppression Rockets Fired Into Storm Clouds over Past 24 Hours in Bulgaria

A total of 1,497 anti-hail rockets were launched by Bulgaria’s Hail Suppression Agency during the intense rainfall on 1 July 2026.

Agency teams treated 95 hail-bearing cloud cells that passed over the protected territory of the country.

In southern Bulgaria, five interventions were carried out on 63 cloud cells, with 985 rockets fired from regional directorates in Gelemenovo, Golyam Chardak, Popovitsa, Tazha and Staro Selo.

In northern Bulgaria, 32 cloud cells were recorded and 512 rockets were fired from command centres in Gramada, Dolno Tserovene, Bardarski Geran and Dolni Dabnik.

In the protected areas covered by the agency, hail precipitation of varying intensity was recorded, with hailstones ranging in size from pea to corn or lentil, across parts of the regions of Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Montana.

In non-protected areas, hail was also reported in the regions of Ruse, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik.

Damage assessments to agricultural crops are still to be carried out. Farmers are required to submit requests for inspections within 10 working days of the event. Committees including experts from the respective regional agriculture directorates will carry out on-site inspections as soon as weather conditions allow access to the affected areas. Following the inspections, official reports will be prepared detailing the extent of the damage.

The agency reminded that the state provides notified aid to compensate for costs in cases of 100% fully destroyed areas, which can be claimed only by registered farmers through the relevant municipal agriculture services.