Bulgaria’s floods: Village evacuated as dam wall threatens to break
The village of Novo Botevo in the Dobrich area in north-eastern Bulgaria was being evacuated on June 22 as the wall of the nearby Botev dam was threatening to break, national firefighting chief Nikolai Nikolova said, quoted by public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television.
Police and firefighting teams were assisting in the evacuation, which came three days after torrential rains left death and destruction along parts of Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, with the Asparouhovo area of the city of Varna and Dobrich being hardest-hit.
The death toll in Varna and Dobrich was said to be 13, with some people still missing.
On June 22, Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said that there was no direct danger, should the wall of the Botev dam break, of the water flowing in the direction of the town of Dobrich itself.
Elsewhere, on June 21 the situation in the flood-hit parts of north-eastern and north-central Bulgaria was gradually starting to normalise, with restoration of electricity supply and cleanup operations underway.
Hundreds of volunteers were involved in the effort, but on June 22 shortages were reported of spades, Wellington boots, buckets and gloves.
In the flood-hit areas of Varna and Dobrich, the Bulgarian Red Cross was distributing free drinking water, food and essential relief supplies to those affected by the disaster.
A fundraising appeal using a special SMS service and donations to a bank account so far has raised more than 500 000 leva (about 250 000 euro).
(Image via BNT)
