Torrential Rains Batter Southwest Bulgaria Over the Weekend, River Levels Stable but Under Monitoring

Torrential rains over the weekend caused damage to streets and raised river levels across Southwestern Bulgaria.

The two major rivers in the region — the Struma and the Mesta — along with their tributaries, remain within their banks and no critical points have been reported so far. Emergency teams, however, continue to monitor the situation closely.

However, they remain under the monitoring of the emergency teams.

“The levels of the rivers in the Struma and Mesta basins are within normal limits, around the average, with no exceedance of the upper threshold,” Commissioner Valentin Vasilev, Director of the Regional Fire Safety and Civil Protection Directorate in Blagoevgrad, told BNT on November 24.

In the most affected places - the Petrich-region villages of Samuilovo, Kolarovo, Belasitsa and Rupite — the damage has been assessed.

Heavy machinery and municipal teams are already working to restore local road infrastructure.

“We are delivering aggregate materials with heavy machinery. After the rains expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, we plan to begin repairing all damage across the entire village road network. The same materials are being delivered to the other foothill villages,” said Kiril Stoyanov, mayor of Samuilovo.

Sewer networks in the region’s municipalities will also undergo thorough cleaning once again. Ageing street drainage systems in some settlements have been identified as one of the factors contributing to the damage.