site.btaFlood Situation Gradually Normalizing - Head of Fire Safety and Civil Protection General Directorate

Speaking on Bulgarian National Television on Monday, Chief Commissioner Aleksandar Dzhartov, Director of the General Directorate of Fire Safety and Civil Protection, said that the flood situation is gradually normalizing.

“Over the past 24 hours, we received 36 alerts related to impacts of weather events. Most of them were in the Gabrovo and Veliko Tarnovo regions. In Plovdiv, we also received nine alerts about fallen trees. Compared to Saturday, when there were 154 alerts, this marks a significant decrease. The good news is that there has been a gradual decrease in river levels. A drop has already been observed in the level of the Yantra River in the Ruse region,” Dzhartov said.

He added that no reservoirs currently pose a risk.

“Repairing the damage will take a long time,” he said. “We need to change our mindset and focus primarily on prevention. No matter how much we invest in technology and equipment, when the time comes to respond, sometimes that will not be enough,” Dzhartov noted.

A state of emergency was declared in several municipalities in the Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo and Lovech regions after heavy rainfall that began on Friday evening caused rivers and reservoirs to overflow. In some settlements, residents had to be evacuated, homes and yards were flooded, and roads were closed.