Situation gradually returns to normal after floods in central Bulgaria

On Sunday, the situation in central Bulgaria was gradually returning to normal after torrential rain hit the Veliko Tarnovo, Lovech and Gabrovo regions the previous day.

Celebrations marking Bulgaria’s May 24 holiday were cancelled in the Veliko Tarnovo region after heavy rainfall caused flooding in several settlements, BNR correspondent Zdravka Maslyankova reported.

Although rainfall resumed on Sunday, the Yantra River has returned to its riverbed. Authorities are expected to assess the damage later in the day. Around 120 households in the municipality of Veliko Tarnovo were affected, but there were no casualties.

The village of Prisovo was among the worst-hit areas. Groups of volunteers have joined forces to pump water out of flooded homes and clean up the damage. Similar volunteer groups were organised in other affected settlements.

Near the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Veliko Tarnovo, 30 cadets from the National Military University and their officers helped clear flooded houses, BNR correspondents reported.

Authorities in the Lovech and Gabrovo regions said that the situation there was also returning to normal.

In the town of Teteven, emergency teams rescued two horses that had entered the swollen Beli Vit River, apparently frightened by the storm. The Interior Ministry told BNT television that the animals were exhausted and distressed but in otherwise good condition.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova