State of emergency declared in four municipalities in Southwestern Bulgaria after torrential rains

State of emergency has been declared on December 13 in four municipalities in the Pirin region, Southwestern Bulgaria, after heavy rains - Simitli, Garmen, Blagoevgrad and Petrich. Due to washed away roads, there is no access to important sites for the water infrastructure and Petrich may experience drinking water restrictions and consumption cuts.

The situation in Kresna, Hadzhidimovo and Bansko is critical - there are dozens of landslides and washed out roads. There are no stranded people, but roads to some villages in the region have been cut off.

The road to the village of Sushitsa in Simitli municipality has been closed because it was damaged. In many places, the Struma and Mesta rivers overflowed and flooded agricultural land.

It is still raining in Garmen and the Kanina River may overflow. Several settlements in the municipality are without water due to destroyed water supply system.