Severe weather conditions in Bulgaria cause deaths and extensive damage

published on 2/7/12 12:12 PM

The flood at the villege of Bisser that took the lives of 8 people

Photo: BGNES

The severe winter conditions in Bulgaria of the past few days took the lives of innocent people and caught the responsible state institutions unprepared to cope with such natural disaster. On February 6, the wall of the Ivanovo dam in the Haskovo region burst out, causing a three-meter wave of water that flooded several villages in the eastern Rhodope Mountain. One of them, the village of Biser, suffered the most and remains flooded. According to official data, the number of victims of this disaster is approaching 10. Around 800 people are homeless and many farm animals were drowned. Flooded villages are blocked by landslides and some of them are still cut off from the rest of the world because of broken roads. On Monday night, the international train from Belgrade to Istanbul remained blocked after its locomotive derailed. The railway track between the stations of Svilengrad and Lyubimets in Southern Bulgaria was interrupted because of the overflowing river Maritsa, which necessitated the stopping of the train traffic.

The situation remains critical in the flooded areas where people were left without electricity and drinking water. Rescue teams from the Ministry of Interior, the Defense Ministry and the Executive Forestry Agency, the local agency for Irrigation Systems and the Bulgarian Red Cross are taking part in the relief efforts. The situation in the regions of Haskovo and Kardjali also remains critical because of the heavy snowfall.

This is yet another tragic disaster in Bulgaria over recent years. In August 2005, torrential rains flooded half of Bulgaria, three dams overflowed and thousands of people were injured. Two years later, a two-meter wave of water was released from a poorly operated dam and flooded the small town of Tsar Kaloyan in Northeastern Bulgaria, killing eight people and destroying one third of the houses.

Who is to blame for the casualties this time? Besides the uncontrollable severe weather conditions, questions arise as to the responsibility of state institutions. Dams in the country are officially owned by several institutions, which means that the responsibility for their management often gets blurred. Unfortunately, nobody can return the lives of the victims, nor repair the damage to homes, roads and farms worth millions. The real cause of such tragedies is the poor management and maintenance, especially of smaller dams, which for years have been slowly crumbling under the pressure of overflowing rivers. Despite the requirements of the responsible institutions that precautions should be taken to prevent such situations, no such preventive measures are taken in many places. Disasters occur again and again and continue to claim the lives of unsuspecting citizens.

In connection with the tragic death of the Bulgarian citizens from the village of Biser who lost their lives in the flooding and as a token of compassion for their families and relatives, the Bulgarian government has declared an official day of mourning on Wednesday (February 8th).

Translated by Rossitsa Petcova

По публикацията работи: Darina Grigorova

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Severe weather conditions in Bulgaria cause deaths and extensive damage

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