site.btaUPDATED Severe Floods Leave Two Dead in Southern Resort Town, State of Disaster Declared

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said two people died and two women and one man were unaccounted for after a rainstorm caused severe floods in Tsarevo on Tuesday. Denkov called a briefing in the coastal resort town which is in a state of disaster.

Denkov said rainfall in the last 24 hours had exceeded the monthly average between three and four times. Greece and Turkiye saw a similar deluge and they also reported fatalities. People along the beach and at campsites have been evacuated, he said. Power was cut off and water cannot be used for drinking.

The Prime Minister warned against going into the sea in that area in the next 48 hours as it is extremely dangerous, polluted and rough. He urged volunteers to contact the crisis taskforce in Tsarevo so as to be assigned where they would be most useful.

Police in the regional capital Burgas said that numerous alerts for people in distress had been received at the emergency line 112. More than 100 people have been evacuated, Tsarevo Mayor Georgi Lapchev said after a meeting of the disaster taskforce.

Several teams of firefighters have been dispatched from Burgas and Primorsko to join the local fire services dealing with the aftermath of the floods.

At the popular Arapya campsite, the floodwater has reached 2 metres. Several cars were swept out to sea by the stormwater.

The Veleka River has brimmed over, inundating the road between Varvara and Sinemorets and making it impassable for traffic.

The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology has issued a yellow-code warning for strong wind and thunderstorms in 15 regions of the country and orange code for severe storms in Burgas Region.

The crisis taskforce has warned all people in the area against leaving their homes. It has also ordered a temporary closure of the traffic in Tsarevo and in the settlements in the area. The approaches to Tsarevo were closed to traffic.

Both dams in Tsarevo Municipality are overflowing. Mayor Georgi Lapchev said the dam walls are intact after the storm. 

The Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC) has provided 800 food parcels containing 10 kg of basic necessities to be distributed to the people, who suffered the worst impact of the disaster in Tsarevo municipality. The BRC is also prepared to provide 100 sleeping sets. Ten tonnes of drinking water have been provided by donors and will be delivered to the area.