State of emergency in the municipality of Teteven due to torrential rain

A state of emergency was declared on 24th of July in the municipality of Teteven, central north Bulgaria. The decision was made by the Municipal Headquarters for Disasters and Accidents, the mayor of the municipality Madlena Boyadzhieva told BTA.

The reason for this is the deteriorated situation after the fall of over 99 litres of rain per square metre, especially in the villages of Glogovo and Gradezhnitsa. There is also information about a victim in Teteven as a result of the floods.

According to Boyadzhieva's initial information, the incident happened near a guest house. A young man has left his car, tried to get through the water and was probably swept away by the floods.

The mayor added that the water in Teteven has already drained away from most streets. There is a serious situation in the villages of Glogovo and Gradezhnitsa. There are power outages, flooded houses and destroyed infrastructure. There is no access to three neighbourhoods in Glogovo, because the road has been destroyed and a concrete bridge was swept away by the flood waters. About 300 people live in the village.

Many houses were flooded in Gradezhnitsa, the river overflew and flooded the streets. There is a landslide on the road Gradezhnitsa - Glogovo.

Urgent actions are being taken to improve the condition of the riverbed. The people in the detached neighbourhoods will be provided with everything they need. The regional governor Georgi Terziiski, who along with the mayor is on the spot of the events, has contacted the Bulgarian Red Cross, from where they will deliver food to the residents.